American Roads
While many people have their own views and ideas about America, the landscape that surrounds us has a substantial impact on these opinions. Depending on where you grew up, where you traveled, or where you spent a sizable portion of your life, the general idea of America will be different for everybody.
It is important to note that by sharing these different ideas and concepts, it can shed new light and open new perspectives about America. It is my goal to educate you on why roads are the backbone of America, and hopefully through this, you will be able to gain more appreciation for American roads.
My Story
Thinking back upon my childhood, a sizable portion of it was spent either playing in the driveway or riding my scooter, skateboard, or rip stick in the neighborhood cul de sac. I can remember flying down the smoothly paved roads, going as fast as I could; the wind brushing against my face and the loud noise of hurling wind blinding my ability to hear anything else. Those were good times. Even before then, I can still remember anxiously waiting and sitting in the passenger seat of my father’s truck, on the way to grandmas; going up those bumpy roads.
As you can see, roads were always involved in my life. They allowed me have an awesome childhood and gave me the ability to experience a different life in Illinois, Michigan, Canada, Maine, Alabama, and South Carolina. From early on to now, these American roads are still very important to me. Although, back then I didn’t realize the full importance of roads, I do now, and I have a better understanding of their true purpose.
The Purpose Of Roads
Now the obvious answer to “what is the purpose of roads?” is “they allow us to drive places.” But this answer is lackluster, and although it is very true, it doesn’t give the full in depth answer. According to Tom Lewis, author of “Divided Highways: Building the Interstate Highways, Transforming American Life”, his answer to this question is stated as thus “These are the highways that bring grapes to Maine in the middle of winter, and relief workers to Florida in the aftermath of a hurricane. They allow many of us to live where we want and to go where we wish. For all of their virtues and despite their faults, the Interstates bind us together."
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In the song "Take Me Home, Country Roads", John Denver sings about country roads and how he wants them to take him home. This song answers the question "what is the purpose of roads?" by showing that roads lead people to their homes
In relation, a poem called “White Highways”, by James Still, suggests that the American landscape is highways that travel through hills, rivers, and creek beds, that eventually lead people back to their homes. The narrator states “I have come back to the long way around” (9), this is referring to roads he has traveled. He then states, “The far between, the slow arrival, Here is my pleasure most where I have lived, And called my home” (10-12). This expresses to the readers that the American Landscape is roads and highways that always lead you back to your home. In contrast, a poem call “Road Report”, by Kurt Brown, suggests that roads allow for a new future and a means of escape. In lines 10 through 14 the narrator states “Mileage is my obsession. I’m always racing off, passing through, as though the present were a dying town I’d rather flee. What matters is the future” (10-14).
It is important to note that American roads also allow people to travel and observe the vast country. Fred DeLuca, a famous American entrepreneur stated “A couple times a year, I get in the car, and I’ll drive 1,000 miles cross-country, going through side streets. I’ll stay off the highways as much as possible. And I realize it’s a huge country, and for us to be in so many places in the country is an amazing thing.”
American roads are very important. They not only allow us to travel to any place desirable, but they also allow for a way back home, an escape route, an opportunity to see the world, a better future, protection, and most importantly freedom. American roads also allow cultures, companies, races, families, etc. to stay connected and united together. That being said, roads are truly the backbone of America, they not only unite us together, but they allow us to travel through America's vast landscape, and live freely.
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