Breathless

Posted by Marc Hodak on March 31, 2007 under Collectivist instinct | Comments are off for this article

If you didn’t think that anything could enhance one’s experience at the Grand Canyon, think again. The Hualapai Indians have created a stunning new attraction there–The Skywalk. This bridge 4000 feet above the canyon floor looks like an experience that would leave one breathless. However, this journalist’s description of his first steps out over the abyss revealed less about his spiritual awakening or engineering prowess than of his collectivist instincts:

The Skywalk’s builders have said repeatedly that the deck is extremely durable. It’s essentially a huge steel horseshoe, capable of withstanding 100 mph (160 kph) winds and holding several hundred 200-pound (90-kilogram) people at a time.

I had no reason to doubt them. But out on the edge, my mind was racing: I tried to remember if any government regulatory agency had checked how well this thing was anchored to the cliff.

This is plainly an emotional reaction to a scary situation. But I think this comment is scary, and I have an emotional reaction to it: Why the f*@k would anyone trust that a government regulatory agency has a greater interest in or expertise about the soundness of this structure than would the tribe that financed it, the engineers that built it, or the insurer bearing its risk?

And yet, I can’t say I’m surprised. News writers are notoriously wary of private agents and their self-interests versus “the government,” as if its agents were somehow endowed with a greater degree of expertise or caring for their fellow man. They often can’t fathom that, even regardless of their economic interests, the owners and operators would be any less concerned about their guests tumbling down the side of the Grand Canyon than some bureaucrat with a tape measure and some forms to fill out. It kind of leaves me breathless.