The Road to Uniformity
The road symbolizes freedom to Americans. The car is the means
to express this freedom. In the post war years a literary
movement, known as the Beat Generation, took to the road in
order to express their freedom and pursue their own version of
the American dream. The Beat Generation's American dream
differed from the current ideal which was immersed in
uniformity. This transient generation found themselves
frustrated with the prevailing political climate in America
which was suffering from paranoia due to the fear inspired as a
result of McCarthyism. The Beats rejected this guilt ridden
mentality and took to the road in search of freedom. The
meaning of their pursuit of freedom was fundamentally altered
as a result of the introduction of the new highway system. The
Interstate Highway system was signed into law in 1956, which
offered America a quick and uniform way to travel the country
and this altered both the meaning of freedom to Americans and
it also dramatically impacted the meaning of the American
dream. The Beat Generation found themselves confronted with the
impossibility of outrunning the status quo and uniformity they
dearly hated. The government that the Beats were so critical of
provided the means for their rebellion and this made it
impossible for them ever to express freedom outside the domain
of the American government. The new American dream was a
callous standardized dream which forced a maternal relationship
between the dreamer and the government because no longer could
one view themselves as independent from the bureaucracy which
literally paved the way for their freedom and rebellion.