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The automobile isn't a symbol of freedom, never has been.
It's a status symbol.
As someone who grew up in the rural US, it absolutely was, and I assume still is, as there are no alternatives in those areas. I could get to my school activities and work part time which, otherwise, was difficult to impossible relying on others. I don't think it should be that way but it very much was (and probably still is) in those rural areas. For me, it also helped keep me away from abuse, but that's (at least hopefully) an exception rather than the rule.
I live in a rural area. Like 15 minute drive to anywhere. Any less driving puts you in the middle of farmland. Not super remote, but enough.
Where I am, if it's not in-town, you generally need to get there by motor vehicle. I only recently moved here, but I don't think that's super relevant.
I will always acknowledge exceptions to every rule. When you're as rural, or more rural than I am, driving is an extremely useful tool to simply get anywhere. The utility of it, in my mind, is not really in question.
For the majority of people, who either live in, or near metropolitan areas, driving has an entirely different dynamic. It's entirely unnecessary for anything that's "in city", which is going to be about 90% of what you'll want to do. Apart from driving long distances to go on vacation or see family, a vehicle is entirely unnecessary. It can save time (at a cost) and it can be helpful when transporting items from one place to another, eg, when moving house; but again, they're exceptions, not the rule.
Please forgive my terse initial comment. I usually find terse comments have more legs. There's always more to any story, and exceptions are expected.
To bring this all back together, the number of people who will be in a rural situation, requiring a vehicle to travel anywhere in a reasonable timeframe, is, by the definition of rural, going to be fewer people than those who are included in my original statement, who live in a city or metro area where the population density is higher and there are more services in walking/biking distance. You and I, my friend, are the exception. Not the rule.
@MystikIncarnate @tiredofsametab I quite like this framing from a UK ad. https://youtu.be/V6ChTqII-Yk sometimes it's just not the best tool for the job.
I like this. Thank you for sharing.