Driving As Amnesia

I've often thought that our obsession with the automobile has been one of the major contributors to our creation of meaningless places. When I drive, separated from the surrounding landscape by glass, fan whir and stereo blast, I feel strangely disconnected. Jean Baudrillard, author of America, captures this feeling of disconnection more precisely: "Driving is a spectacular form of amnesia. Everything is to be discovered, everything to be obliterated." And it's so true. When I drive on America's endless highways, I don't remember anything along the way, not just because much of it looks alike but because I'm not physically connected to it -- driving is primarily a way to pass through quickly to get from one point to another without a lot of hassle or disturbance. I could just as well be in California or Florida as Virginia. It's amazing how often I forget to roll down the window, open the sunroof or just turn off the radio so I can hear the wind. Photo courtesy of Photodu.de's