Wondering about a sea of consumption

I was walking to work the other day and there were hundreds of cars zooming by at a busy intersection. I was the only person not in a car or shop as far as I could see. But I had memory of hearing sometime that there is a story about aliens coming to earth and concluding that cars are really in charge and they have enslaved the human race. Which in some ways is true. We spend time in them everyday and work to support them. I guess I feel a little isolated sometimes because I don't have a car.

It seems everyone owns a car. I did learn in school how we decided to move from an infrastructure of public transit and spaces to a private car culture. It wasn't an accident. I am thinking specifically of how Goodyear bought up all the train companies in the West (specifically starting in L.A.) and then replaced them with buses. Buses are louder and more expensive to keep going and use a lot more carbon and are less reliable and safe but they make money for the manufacturers because they have to be replaced more often. I am waiting to go somewhere and I am going everywhere in a private car. My neighbors are fighting the Fasttracks rail line going in behind their houses because it will be loud. But it's not like they are building new tracks from scratch- they are just fixing an old track to make it usable again. I am frustrated with my neighbors because public trains are better for everyone- they cost less than private cars, are better for the environment, are safer, and create a sense of shared responsibility by encouraging public spaces.