What are your thoughts on the American road? Is it part of the American national identity? And why/why not?

Question

I'm currently writing my master's thesis on the road in the US. I want to explore its mythical status with roots back to the first settlers and the 'frontier thesis' (how the American was moulded on the frontier). I also plan on looking at Route 66 and explain how it has added to the myth of the road. Finally, I intend to look at road movies and explain how they keep the myth of the road alive.
I'm not from the US myself, and therefore I'm interested in getting in touch with 'real' Americans who would like to share their thoughts on the road with me. Is the road still mythical? Why/why not? Have you ever been on a road trip - or do you intend to go? What does the road symbolize to you (both the road in general and Route 66)? Do you think the road is part of the American national identity? Or only the whites' identity? Is it possible to find personal identity on the road as portrayed in many road movies? Please explain to me what the road means to you as a person and a people. Thanks

Answer 1

Sounds like an interesting thesis. I am 38, Hispanic, and male. I was born in Texas, but since my father was in the military, lived in many different states and in Europe.

IMO, there is something mythical about the American road. When on the road, the sheer vastness of "America" leads one to think anything is possible, that there is always a possibility of starting over. It also instills a sense of wonder, or at least curiosity about what may lay just around the corner. I do not think this is unique only to whites.

I have taken many a road trip and there is something to the whole "self discovery on a road trip" thing. On a road trip, people are forced to sit together in a small space and experience changing geography, culture, etc together. It induces introspection and instant dialogue.

I personally, feel melancholy when taking road trips, now. I do see the road as symbolizing the American identity, and it is unfortunately dissappearing. I hate to drop a loaded word like globalization into this, but the road is not what it was when I would take to it with my grandparents as a little boy. You now see more dried up communities, less mom and pop stores, and unfortunately more uniformity. The kid working the counter at a gas station in the middle of nowhere, is now online downloading 50 Cent songs. We're more connected and now more alike. There's less mystery, less to inspire our imagination.

I hope this helps.

In response to Jack's answer, Americans do choose the fastes route, that get me there yesterday pragmatism has been a driving aspect of a our culture, but I think that many Americans would tell you that the move from the old "road" to interstates lined with McDonald's and Jack in the Box, is one that IS lamented. Americans DO connect the road with the American past. Of course I imagine the age of the American you ask will have a lot to do with their answer. With all due respect I think Jack can study and read about Americans, but he cannot give the definitive American response. There are many.

Answer 2

Hi Joan,

You ask what is in fact a very difficult question to answer. I think you're overselling the idea. Let me explain.

If you are discussing the "road" as piece of asphalt or concrete, or even a rut through the wilderness, then the answer is that it holds no allure for Americans -- it never has, and never will.

Don't romaticize American History. The reason roads were important is that they were the only way to get from point"A" to point"B". If the pioneers could have flown aircraft to the west coast, they'd have done so gladly.

For Americans, it has always been about the destination -- not the trip. Americans have always been restless and far more mobile than most people. Because of that relentless desire for the "New," the "better," the "greater," Americans have been kept moving from their colonial days. The road itself is irrelevant, and for Americans, only a necessary nuisance to be put up with on the way to the next better thing.

Americans do not love the road, they love getting there as quickly as possible. That's why Rt. 66 ultimately died. A lot of people romanticize it, and talk about its charming little out of the way shops and diners, and motels, etc. But these aesthetics mean nothing to Americans. It's all about "Faster." And so, when the Interstate Highways opened up. American's deserted the charm of the back-roads, and said, "who cares -- I want to get there tomorrow instead of next week -- take the interstate."

Americans do not love the road -- they love the idea of "Motion," the idea of freedom and movement toward the new and the better. And anything which increases that motion will be appreciated. It isn't the road -- it's the speed with which they can get where they're going that matters. Thus...
Cumberland Gap gives way to Wagon Trains.
Wagon Trains give way to Railroads
Railroads give way to Jets.
Rt. 66 gives way to I-10.

SPEEEEEEED. Got it?

Answer 3

The American highway has become a part of American culture and American history/folklore. The limited access and high speeds of the modern Interstate Highway System have lessened that somewhat. To really get a feel for the American road of folklore you have to get off of the superhighways and travel the two-lane "scenic routes" where you are closer to the towns, villages, and all the little interesting and quirky "tourist traps". This was part of the appeal of the old Route 66, most of which now has been replaced by Interstate 40.

I can still remember the 50's and 60's road trips my family and I took across the country before the Interstates were finished and seeing a lot of this stuff, and it was great. I think those days were the heyday of the American road culture - you had lots of things like drive in movies (I wish there were more of them today - most are gone now) and real old fashioned drive-ins where a car hop would take your order and you would eat in your car (Sonic is about the only place I can think of left that still does that). More things like these were auto-centric back then and while Americans still drive a lot, much of the old road stuff is gone now

I think the road is part of the overall American identity - I can't really speak for racial groups - I guess I've never been that racially conscious myself (I'm white, from America's "heartland" - and so I never really learned to separate or categorize people into racial groups) it might not be part of certain smaller ethnic groups identities, but I think it's part of the overall American identity.

Answer 4

Joan, did you read "Blue Highways: A Journey into America " by William Least Heat-Moon? Very interesting for the point-of-view of someone who digs the old, pre-Eisenhower back roads of the United States (marked with the color blue on old highway maps). It's a bit the "On The Road" of the 80s.

Almost as good is "The Lost Continent" by Bill Bryson (the same one who wrote "A Short History of Nearly Everything).