Perhaps this is overly simplistic to say, but there are two particular kinds of people in this world: those who like to drive around in their car completely aimlessly, thinking, perhaps listening to music while doing so. And those who think people who do this are weird.
Peter fell into that first group. In fact, he’d actually turned it into a bit of a practice. This is how it went: on evenings that he had a rough day at work, he’d take the long way home, and during the detoured part of his drive, he’d try his best to eliminate all thoughts related to work from his mind. On average, he probably “took the long way home” two times a week. But that wasn’t it. Peter also took one aimless drive lasting from 20-45 minutes on weekends, typically Saturdays.
However, all it took for this practice to end was one particular weekend day in which everything changed.
It was in the late afternoon, Peter was feeling groggy and was tempted by the sight of his living room couch. A nap sure felt like a good idea. But he knew that this nap would’ve lasted longer than an hour, which he didn’t want, and that he could possibly get rid of his grogginess by taking his regular drive. So that’s what he did. Rather, he at least thought that’s what it was going to be — just another regular drive.
Now is the time you might be thinking that something tragic happened. That Peter’s drive ended with a car accident that forever changed his view of driving or even his ability to drive. But that’s not where this is headed. Because Peter completed his drive and did so with no incidents. He also accomplished his goal of snapping himself out of the haze he was in. Initially, there was nothing that would’ve led him to believe that he’d never go on one again.
Later that evening, though, was when the news came through. The news itself wasn’t necessarily a surprise, it had been a long time coming. But how quickly it came was quite shocking… to everyone.
It first came as a notification on Peter’s phone: all manual driving effective immediately was being banned in favor of self-driving vehicles. The provision of generic self-drivers would be commencing immediately. In the meantime, self-driving cabs, which were already available in most large and medium-sized cities, would be free of charge until all households had been provided with their own.
At first, Peter was certain he’d still be able to go on those “aimless drives” but just not do the driving himself. This ended up not being an option, however.
To go along with the new ban also came some new regulations. One of which required the person entering the vehicle to type into the car’s computer their reasoning for traveling from point A to point B. And for the time being, and maybe forever, “aimless drive” was not valid and would show up on the screen as “insufficient reasoning.” ~
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not opposed to self-driving cars. What I am opposed to, howevere, is the restriction of one’s ability to engage in self-ownership and self-preservation. As our world continues to make gains with Artificial Intelligence, I’m afraid a person’s ability to participate in human activities, such as going on “aimless drives,” might be restricted with the help of this technology, due to the “inefficiency” of the behavior.
In the story above, I don’t even believe in my use of the term “aimless,” because it’s clear that Peter’s drives weren’t at all aimless. They were purposeful in that they provided an outlet for decompression, self-care, and self-volition. All things robots will never be able to empathize with.
Perhaps I’m paranoid and the story will remain what it is now: fiction. But with the onslaught upon self-ownership and personal property that we witnessed in 2020, along with the potentiality of things like the Green New Deal and The Great Reset, both of which would amplify this onslaught, the fiction part of my story could become a thing of the past.
I was recently listening to a podcast in which someone referred himself as a “human supremacist.” I would also describe myself in this way. The people behind the Great Reset and the Green New Deal seem to view people as if they’re livestock, as if it’s necessary to create coherency and sufficency among the entire herd. Fighting against this sort of mindset is absolutely vital for those who believe in self-owenership and self-preservation. And sometimes that can be as simple as empathizing with someone expressing their own personal autonomy by going on a simple, yet essentially meaningful drive around the neighborhood.
Thank you so much for reading! If you like what you’ve read please consider subscribing. Doing so will result in you receiving an email notification for everything I publish. No ads and no paywalls. However, if you would like to support my work, you can do so through “buying me a coffee” by clicking here. I’d also greatly appreciate it if you’d share my work around on social media and consider following me on Twitter; I’m open to hearing suggestions of topics you’d like me to write about. Again, thank you so much, and I look forward to continuing to share with you.