13. Sharayah McDonald- Reading Response 4

 In reading for Week 13, the textbook discussed the impact of the economy on the environment, and vise versa. It especially detailed the impact that American values have on the economy, and thus environmental policy, for Americans value their leisure and money over the environment. Something that really stuck out to me in this chapter more than anything is that "the conflation of theory and ideology is particularly tempting for Americans because our political culture emphasizes individual liberties and the idea of freedom" (350). To me, this quote directly relates to what we discussed in class during our last class, and the idea that new public transportation infrastructures will be slow to be created due to Americans valuing their own personal freedom to own cars. Americans feel power through driving by themselves and not having to share their space and time with strangers. They also feel power through their heavy machinery, for they know that they could drive across the country if they wanted to. They do not want to feel limited that they could only make it to work; they like to know that they could drive wherever they wanted. I personally feel as though this is a selfish American value; one that could be easily sacrificed for the better public good. Furthermore, this passage makes me see a connection between this class and my American history class, in which we discuss the extremely American values of hard work, liberty, freedom, natural rights, and rugged individualism. I feel as though Americans are not willing to give up their private transportation because it is regarded as a right, as a freedom, and has ties to this individualism. Americans want to feel free to do what they want with their property, by themselves. I personally feel like owning a car is not something that should be regarded as a right, for it is not a right that every American can exercise. Only the middle and upper classes can afford cars and gas, and thus, the American public should not be opposed to an increase in public transportation, for not only would it help the environment, but it would also help the poorest in American.