SMART Car Rally and our need to be a part of something. Silly humans.

Posted on October 25, 2008 by avatar

I got a call from my father Sunday. He was driving past a church in Hingham and saw about a dozen boxy, little SMART cars parked in their driveway. It turns out, they were in town to celebrate a meetup of like-minded car owners.

After his suggestion that I go take some photos of the event, which I provided to a few media outlets and also posted here, I started to think about our need to be included.

In anything.

With people.

Even odd people who drive little boxy cars.

What’s our major malfunction? Are humans so needy that they have to dress alike (witness the legions of people in Talbots garb all around the South Shore) or drive impractical vehicles (can you really find a purpose in Hummers for the general populace?).

I can understand the desire to be included. I went through high school as a slightly nerdy and excluded teen and it scarred me slightly. Conversely, I’ve been thrilled in my adult life to be part of fundraising, social and recreational groups. They’ve offered me the ability to expand my knowledge, meet new people and enjoy a variety of experiences.

So is this interaction as vital as food or water? Do we require this stimulation to exist and contribute to society?

What about monks who lock themselves away for years contemplating the world? That strikes me as an exercise as effective as trying to solve math problems without using any numbers. Maybe it can be done, but actual data probably proves more useful.

Coming back to the original question, I guess we’re not that silly. Participatory events like the SMART Fun Run this weekend and the collection of crazy things we all do make us unique.

What’s even more interesting is that something so strange as a boxy little car club can contribute to the very characteristics we treasure in others. The enviable trait of being well-rounded.

Keep reading!

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3 Responses to SMART Car Rally and our need to be a part of something. Silly humans.

  1. Matt Searles says:
    October 25, 2008 at 4:56 pm

    Hey Jeff,

    lol, allow me to try and explain the monks, and what not, for ya..

    The deal is that there’s two mysteries in life, the outward mystery and the inward mystery, both of which we spend our lives exploring. So that’s point one about what them monks are up to. Point 2 is.. there is this kind of “objective” truth thing.. having something to do with data and and relationships of data.. but there is also subjective truth.. which again has something to do with inward realities and mysteries.. It’s also true that.. the psychology type of the introverted thinker is usually the one who starts with theories and then goes out and looks at the data.. In terms of collective evolution, we need a balance of both.. for our collective wholeness.. and you know, we tend to be prejudiced in the more extrovert direction.

    I think we see this now in blogging / social media contexts.. of a shift in our understand of what knowledge is… where subjective truth is now becoming more a part of our understand of what knowledge is.

    I remember reading somewhere.. about how people where much more into forming groups, I think it was just after the second world war.. bowling groups, the kind of water buffalo group you’d see on the Flintiness, etc.. and then there was a movement out of that..

    There is a certain alienation that’s a part of the kind of modern / post modern condition.. Edward Hopper paintings are probably a good expression of that.. We have this feeling of impotence to effect change.. the effect of the automobile on human bonds.. and communities.. the dehumanizing side of industrialization..

    So I feel like it’s a kind of pendulum that’s pushed in one direction.. and now swinging in the other direction.. a kind of drive toward a mental health equilibrium… that’s sorta the systemic factors underlying this sorta thing.

  2. jeff says:
    October 25, 2008 at 5:13 pm

    Matt,

    Now my brain hurts. I may have to swallow my preconceptions and some tea and go sit in a corner quietly to ponder your explanation.

    Thanks!

  3. coco says:
    October 27, 2008 at 1:13 am

    I think these cars are perfect for urban settings but like so many of the green cars, they lack suburban value.
    However, this new game may help make the Smart Car take off:
    http://womenartmoney.blogspot.com/2008/10/who-plays-punch-buggy-artstar-plays.html
    wow…

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