I just read interesting article by George Monbiot after being spurred to check out his web site from an article my dad sent me.

The linked piece talks about his perception of the relationship between car-driving and libertarianism in the UK, and some of the inherent contradictions and conflicts that come from them.

While i'm not really a big fan of the speed cameras that Monbiot seems to support, i do recognize them as some kind of counterbalance to some of the uglier forms of road rage and other socially-destructive habits encouraged by the private automobile. My biggest qualms with speed cameras and the like are related to situations where the society has basically forced driving on nearly everyone (e.g. roads and low population density, but no public transport, like many places in the US), and then uses the fact that you are in a private vehicle as a tool for selective (read: discriminatory) law enforcement.

When will people wake up and demand proper government support of real, community infrastructure!? If we're gonna have a big ol' government, why doesn't it fund programs that help people work together, instead of pitting them against one another the way that heavy private traffic seems to do? Strong bicycle networks, community health centers, and subsidized healthy food for all would be a good start!

At any rate, Monbiot raises some interesting issues, and many of the articles on his site are probably worth reading, if the half-dozen recent pieces i sampled were any indication. I'm made especially uncomfortable by his condemnation of air travel, but on reflection, that's most likely because it has a ring of truth to it, and it points a damning finger at my own habits (whereas the stuff condeming car drivers just makes me outraged at "the anti-social bastards in our midst", but not uncomfortable). food for thought, anyway.