Not everything is a matter of personal opinion. For instance, after ragi ng debate for several decades, it's now almost universally accepted tha t smoking is extremely detrimental to one's health, while with much less de bate it is accepted that regular exercise, including riding classic bilkes, is very beneficial to one's health. Leaders of a society, whether gover nment officials or others, or just ordinary citizens, should encourage othe rs to engage in beneficial activities and to refrain from harmful ones. Note I say encourage and discourage, not dictate or forbid.
One may however be justifed in forbidding certain conduct when it pertains to minors or damages others. Thus it is illegal in most places for minor s to buy or use cigarettes or for adults to sell them to minors.
Now in regard to bicycling versus driving, bicycling can be demonstrated to provide many benefits, including enhancing personal health and reducing tr affic and parking congestion, and I have yet to see anyone demonstrate anyt hing harmful about bicycling. On the other hand I agree that global warm ing has become too Politically Correct and is not yet definitively proven a nd that many of the models of global climate change are still suspect.
Nevertheless, I think any reasonable person would concede that burning foss il fuels does the environment no particular good and may well finally be pr oven to do it substantial harm. If that harm is proven and is proven to be severe and immediate, as has now been proven about smoking, then mandato ry actions banning or restricting driving will not only be justified but et hically obligatory. No one, after all, has any "right" to engage in actions that do substantial harm to others, and sufficient damage to the en vironment harms essentially everyone.
Until the models can be proven (or disproven) it still makes sense to enc ourage (not dictate) demonstrably beneficial activities and discourage (not ban) activities which significant evidence suggests may be harmful to ot hers. Now like it or not, it is society, not the individual, which dec ides what is proven or not proven, what benefit or harm is substantial or n ot, and what harm from a product like petroleum we will accept in excha nge for its advantages. Democracy and "freedom" do not mean that everyon e is entitled to do exactly as he pleases, but that everyone is entitled to participate in socially made decisions, and that if he is in the minor ity, he should be compelled to comply only where his compliance substan tially benefits others or his refusal substantially harms others.
The great thing about cycling is that one has absolutely no need to agoni ze about it. Besides the inherent enjoyment of the activity itself, one can also "feel good" about getting exercise, saving money, maintaining and repairing one's own vehicle, reducing congestion, and yes, quite likel y improving the environment. Two of the early advocates of cycling i n post-WWII America were Dr. Clifford Graves, and Dr Paul Dudley White, President Eisenhower's physician. Those who started cycling when many of us did remember that these guys were widely quoted in the bicycle pub lications of the time, which have now become classics. I remeber a quote from one of them to the effect that cycling was to travel through one's own country in the fresh air, giving no offense of any kind to one's fellow citizens. That's just as vaild an aspiration today as it was back then.
The classic bicycle hobby isn't just about hoarding these things or hanging them on the wall. More than anything it should be about riding them. Now part of the fun of riding classic bikes is to experience, and help pre serve, a little piece of history. But much of the fun is the same as tha t of riding any bicycle, and that includes not only the immediate personal enjoyment, but also the enjoyment of the fact that one is doing something b eneficial both for oneself and others. If enjoying doing things benefici al to others as well as myself makes me a communist or a "phony" conservati ve, then I don't want to be a "true" conservative, at least not by your def inition.
Regards
Jerry Moos In that bastion of Communist subversion, Big Spring, Texas, USA
From: mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net <mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net> Subject: Re: [CR]18 Way to Know You Have Bike Culture To: jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net Cc: "Amir Avitzur" <walawalaoxenfree@gmail.com>, "ternst" <ternst1@cox.net> , classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Date: Thursday, December 18, 2008, 1:54 PM
I'll thought I'd strip out something from the commentary below that I think serves as a perfect example of what I think underlies so many aspects of "bicycle culture" and "bicycling advocacy" that results in friction or the turning off of others to cycling and the cycling community:
"If bikes are to become more widely used in America, and I think it is highly desirable that they should, we must develop a culture that sees cycling a desirable, healthy, and socially responsible, all of which are true IMHO."
We already have a culture in America called "American Culture" that encompasses
the following:
1. An appreciation for technological development and change including the
field of transportation is which bicycles are an existing and viable option .
2. A recognition of the individual right to determine for oneself what is
desireable or not.
3. A recognition of the individual right to determine for oneself what is
healthy or not - one man's cup of tea isn't necessarily another's.
4. A recognition of the rule of law, and a jury's right to determine when one individual has violated another individual's right to privacy, property, etc.
(Have to admit they are under attack lately...)
Socially responsible? Usually when I hear that phrase it comes from the mo uth of a socialist or communist who want to IMPOSE their view as policy and den y to
others the same. Lately they have come from phony conservatives in sheeps
clothing.
If you want to persuade...great! Go for it...and respect the rights of tho se who aren't persuaded. Your loaded statement doesn't argue for persuasion - but
rather imposition wrapped in an easy to swallow pill coating.
I'll take my own thank you...
=8-)
Robert Shackelford San Jose, CA USA
Quoting Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>:
> I agree with Ted. I found this clever and amusing also, and the
attiutude
> towards motorists was one of good-natured condescension, not the active
and
> occasionally violent hostility one sometimes sees among the most extreme
> bicycle activists in the US.
>
> If bikes are to become more widely used in America, and I think it is
highly
> desirable that they should, we must develop a culture that sees cycling a
> desirable, healthy, and socially responsible, all of which are true
IMHO.
> Evidently Denmark already possesses such a culture, and they should be
> admired for that. I don't see that they are demonizing motorists,
indeed one
> of the items mentioned leaving the car parked while cycling to work,
meaning
> they feel no guilt about owning an automobile.
>
> I'm hardly an anti-car fanatic, and indeed I work at an oil refinery
and have
> worked in refineries most of my life. I see no contradiction in using
> petroleum and automobiles where they are really needed or highly
beneficial,
> while using bicycles (or walking or mass transport) whenever we can.
I
do
> find it a bit ironic to commute by cycle to work at a refinery, but ironi
c
in
> a pleasant way. I think Denmark and some other European countries have
a
> healthier balance of auto use with its alternatives than we do in America
,
> and I think we would do well to learn from them. A national belief in
the
> superiority of every single aspect of one's own culture is not a sign
of
> strength, but a fatal weakness that will eventually destroy any society.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
> Big Spring, Texas, USA
>
>
>
> --- On Thu, 12/18/08, ternst <ternst1@cox.net> wrote:
>
> From: ternst <ternst1@cox.net>
> Subject: Re: [CR]18 Way to Know You Have Bike Culture
> To: mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net, "Amir Avitzur"
<walawalaoxenfree@gmail.com>
> Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Date: Thursday, December 18, 2008, 12:28 PM
>
> Let's not take this too personal or seriously.
> I chuckled a little with the actuality as it is in Denmark, coupled with
> some tongue in cheek.
> To understand it from THEIR society and how they view it, one has to have
> been there, stayed a while, and ridden bikes around the towns and
> countryside.
> I have done so.
> As as a country we have been so big and dominant so long we have tended t
o
> be more isolationist and become too provincial in many ways, so we
don't
> really "get it", witness our standing in the world today when it
> comes to
> giving other countries respect, dignity, and understanding.
> In many countries the bike is THE MODE of transport. We are a car
dominated
> society.
> Bike people here may be in some facets of our sport more a CULT than an
> actual CULTURE!
> It's always important to recognize and understand the difference.
> Ride your bike and enjoy! To hell with the rest! Loosen up those legs and
> your brain.
> Ride and let ride.
> Ted Ernst
> Palos Verdes Estates
> CA USA
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <mrrabbit@mrrabbit.net>
> To: "Amir Avitzur" <walawalaoxenfree@gmail.com>
> Cc: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 9:37 AM
> Subject: Re: [CR]18 Way to Know You Have Bike Culture
>
>
> > Honestly, I didn't find it cute...nor on topic. Actually, I
thought
> every
> > item
> >
> > was contrived...and sensed an anti-car, anti-conservative,
> > anti-libertarian
> > agenda in it as well.
> >
> > One though was right on spot: "I just ride."
> >
> > Seriously, if someone feels the need to subscribe to some kind of
> > "culture" as
> > part of riding on or working with bicycles - I have to question why
they
> > are on
> >
> > a bike in the first place.
> >
> > Is it possible that it's because they have to, and hate it, and
> suscribing
> > to
> > a "culture" is their way of dealing with it. Maybe such
> cyclists really
> > are
> > envious of motorists? Jealous? Debate away...I have better things
to
> > do...
> >
> > In my case, I like bicycles. I like cars. I just ride and drive
'em.
>
> > And
> > even when I can't afford a car, big deal. I just get on with
it...
> >
> > Even though I don't really listen much to Dr. Laura, one time I
did
> listen
> > in
> > when she made a point that I think might just fit right in here...
> >
> >
> > "There are two kinds of women. There are those who hate men.
> Complain
> > about
> > men. Attack men. Whine about this and that and equality outside and
in
> > the
> > home...etc...and spend their life being miserable. Then there are
those
> > women
> >
> > who understand that men are born to women, raised by women, and
married to
> > women...and they use that power wisely."
> >
> >
> > Maybe some cyclists out there need to think about the above and apply
it
> > to
> > their cycling life, their relationship with motorists, etc...and give
it
> > some
> > more thought.
> >
> > =8-)
> >
> > Robert Shackelford
> > San Jose, CA USA
> >
> >
> >
> > Quoting Amir Avitzur <walawalaoxenfree@gmail.com>:
> >
> >> This is cute and, maybe even, on topic.
> >>
> >>
http://www.copenhagenize.com/
> > bicycle.html
> >>
> >> Happy Holidays
> >>
> >> Amir Avitzur
> >> R"G Israel
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >>
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