Thursday, March 30, 2006

Public transportation and our republican system of government

The other morning I saw an ad for the DC Metro system on the side of a bus that said, "House, Senate. Bus, Rail." I experienced a mini-flashback to the SATs and thought to myself, "That seems like an apt analogy--but why?"

Well: like the House, the bus system is the black-sheep sibling; it's less well-known, less predictable, and it has a lot more crazy people.

But is this possibly what Metro meant? Unlikely--why would they want to point out to bus riders that the strangers in whose armpits they are standing are probably wackjobs like Tom Tancredo?

But what else is it supposed to mean? That Metro is bicameral and that in order to get anything done you have to ride both a bus and a train? That once you get on the metro you'll be there for 6 years, while you'll only stay on the bus for 2?

It's a mystery. At least it will give me something to ponder while I ride the fickle, passionate branch of the legislature to work.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually, I think the comparison isn't one aimed at bicameralism or its structural features but something more pragmatic. As in:

Just like the House and Senate, the Bus and Metro are filled with argumentative, whiny, self-centered assholes with no concern for the well-being of others. And like the House and Senate, neither the bus nor the metro actually works they way the founders intended. Oh, and the stench.

Anonymous said...

Watch out for Santorum on the rail.

TA said...

Gross, anonymous. (Props to Dan Savage for making Santorum's name gross!)