A Preliminary Post

About Suspended License

The title of this blog, “Suspended License” refers to the now-dawning era in which the driving privileges of ordinary Americans are going to be, as a result of unaffordable gasoline prices, revoked. With the exception of the wealthy and a few other select groups that require the cost of transportation to conduct daily business, the average American is going to be facing dealing with having a suspended license—not because it has been revoked for driving violations, but because of the prohibitive cost of fuel.

Considering the potential implications of an economy and society without access to affordable fuel and transportation is a daunting and often frightening task. While it is easy to speculate, it’s almost impossible to fathom the strange new world we will be experiencing in our lifetime—in fact, the world we are already beginning to catch glimpses of.

While there are a number of issues related to the problem of sky-high fuel and energy costs, particularly as they relate to matters of home heating oil and other transportation/logistical matters, the purpose and focus of this blog is, if only for the sake of trying to make sense of one piece of a staggeringly complicated puzzle, how car and transportation costs are going to have an impact on our society and economy.

Questions about the process of moving from a suburban to an urban culture, the shift into community versus external community focus, the economic impact of higher fuel (and consequently higher grocery and other) costs, the possibilities of transit and other viable alternatives, and the more general discussion about what in the hell we should expect at large will be topics that will be addressed here. In short, the focus on this blog is on matters of transportation and economic and social viability, sustainability, and other implications we will be forced to consider in the near future.

The primary author of Suspended License, Nicole Hemsoth, has a formal academic background in English and Cultural Anthropology from Ohio State University, but over the course of a few years has been gravitating away from literature and into the realm of socioeconomic and political matters. With so many rapid changes taking place as a result of the forced need for all Americans to recognize the upcoming paradigm shift in how we do everything in our lives, including what we buy and how we buy it, how we create diversions and entertainment, how we choose to spend our hard-earned money and budget in the event of crisis, and what we will make of a world we no longer recognize, literature seems like a concern that should be left for a society with more free time and the social focus necessary to concentrate on finer matters of artistic development. This is a work in progress with the aim of communicating a sense of urgency and all comments and request for guest contributions of articles, interviews, thoughts and other written words is welcomed and appreciated.

So, here we go....