I guess I've been car free for about 8 years now and, although I started for reasons of finance and convenience, my primary motivations have changed over the years with some becoming more important and others becoming less.

Last night I went to see the film Crude by Joe Berlinger and it made me think about my current reasons for continuing to live car free. The film is about the environmental and human rights atrocities which have been committed by oil drillers in Ecuador and after the film a discussion with the director Joe Berlinger revealed that he is not at all "anti-oil" nor did he intend the film to be "anti-oil" and he emphasized that it would be hypocritical of a heavy oil user like himself to be "anti-oil".

Well I couldn't help but think what a load of **** that was because at the end of the day the oil company which he seeks to demonize is ultimately empowered by people like you and me (and especially Joe Berlinger who is a self proclaimed heavy oil user who apparently drives a gas guzzling SUV to and from his massive oil heated home in the middle of nowhere) who bank roll these dirty deeds. And it reminded me that perhaps my primary motivation for being car free at this point in my life is to become more self sufficient and independent.

Why independence? Because the reality of life is that money makes the world go round and when you devote a significant portion of your earnings to someone you are in essence transferring your vote, your say, about how the world will be to them; Particularly when we devote those earnings without consideration or scrutiny by allowing it to become a default integral part of our life styles and the life styles of those around us we are literally using our stored up man hours (our blood and sweat) to mandate a corporate army to use that power inscrutably.

Unfortunately the saying "if you want something done right you have to do it yourself" rings true morally as much as it does practically because when society as a whole concentrates as much wealth and power in anything as we do in the oil industry it is always bound to result in dangerous entities committing downright evil acts. So for me to be as dependent on something as most people are on oil is just plain irresponsible because maintaining control of our own actions, as responsible individuals should, requires not empowering people who can't be trusted with no-questions-asked mandates and the sad truth of the matter is it's not just the "dirty" oil companies that can't be trusted but really anyone empowered by billions of dollars.

So, in conclusion, I don't think we as individuals can realistically indulge in the sort of convenience afforded by wholesale participation in a car-centric society in a responsible way and that is presently number one on the long list of reasons why I cycle instead of drive because it gives me the peace of mind of knowing better how my personal man hours used towards transportation are actually being used (for example, whether they are being used towards nefariously and willfully poisoning indigenous peoples or bankrolling terrorist organizations) than any other mode of travel.