Drive

Subconsciously I didn't give my hometown 'alternative' newsweekly enough credit. I had grown tired of their myopic topics; it seemed like a majority of their subject matter was the prevention of corporate America from permeating Knoxville. Almost everything else was about the lack of mass transit. Sure, it would be fantastic if Knoxville cared about its past, and every square foot exuded history like New Orleans. But if most people want their shopping choices narrowed only to Old Navy, Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Chili's, Walgreen's, and Olive Garden, well, this is a democracy and the majority rules. But I digress. I was just picking up Metro Pulse out of habit when I would pass the newspaper rack at the grocery store.

Jack Neely's thought-provoking cover story 'The Quiet Disaster' proved to me that I needed to rethink my previous position.

I don't really contemplate driving anymore. I can remember when I was 14 or 15 and how much I craved a driver's license. Now it's a chore more than anything else. 'The Quiet Disaster' caused me to reflect on the mundane everyday act of operating an automobile. And not just my driving habits, but, as the story inspired me to do, America's violent automotive nonchalance.