The mighty US of A has around 300 million legal registered residents. (According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, the resident population of the United States, projected to 01/26/08 at 10:15 GMT (EST+5) is 303,309,531.)
And I’m not gonna go bashing them. Any of them. Well, not right now at least. But I discovered a US fact today that I couldn’t help but judge. (Just so we’re all clear, judging isn’t bashing. Its much more haughty and condescending than bashing.)
The mighty US of A has around 5.5 million roads. Roughly 5.5 million planned and constructed, engineered and named vehicular carriageways. One length of tar and paint and compacted earth per 55 people.
Think about that. How many people live on your street? How many people would live on a street in New York City? A lot right? So somewhere, in the burbs of the Midwest or the keys of Florida, there’s one family per street. And laying a street is no mean feat. I’m no engineer, but I’ve seen the army of machines roll in to level a patch of dirt into a gleaming strip of bitumen. It’s a lot. A whole Tonka range. Is it necessary? Even in the lap of luxury developed world, do we need to have everything so freaking accessible? Or should that read segregated?
Now I’m not sure if the ratio is any better in Australia (god bless google, but some searches just weren’t meant to be fruitful). The figure is probably similarly shocking. And I’ll admit there aren’t even any direct conclusions to be drawn. But for some reason this figure – one road per 55 people – brought home the grotesque affluence of the West more than anything else in a long time.
I take my life for granted and complain about the government and get road rage and lose myself in petty squabblings routinely. 1:55 pulled me out of that. Maybe for just a while, maybe for longer. But at least for now I know how lucky I am, and I remember the guilt of privilege, and hopefully some conclusions will come to me…
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