The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

Tom Bartel’s editorial about the bridge collapse, “The Roman Arch: Mixing Metaphors Instead of Concrete,” touched on the dilemma or even the cause of the collapse.

“ … It’s clear as well that politicians and bureaucrats who answer to politicians have no stomach for inconveniencing drivers …. What representatives of our government’s work receive more irate looks than the guys who put out the orange cones that slow us down?”

No one was going to or had the power to shut down the busiest bridge in Minnesota. It was reported that when some lanes on the bridge had to be closed for inspections, people would throw objects and verbally assault the inspectors. There was just too much pressure from an insane pedal-to-the-metal society to keep it open, no matter how unsafe it was. Capitalism moving at a rapid pace will always trump an unsafe bridge. The demand to keep things moving at a rapid pace took precedence over the safety of a small handful of motorists traveling over the bridge at any given time.

The debt we are in, the competitiveness, the greed, all add up to a maxed-out, cannot-stop society. Our non-stop, out-of-control lives are what rule and dictate things around here—not our “leaders.”