Wednesday June 2, 2004
Destructive decibels
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The dog and I had gone for a walk in the woods. The new green grass was poking high through last year\’s pine needles, the birds sang their passionate songs in the treetops, and the sky was blue.
I found myself thinking of that familiar refrain: “God\’s in his heaven, and all\’s right with the world.”
I could quibble with the implied theology. I\’m no longer as convinced as I used to be that God is a he, nor that God\’s proper place is in heaven. But I won\’t.
Because at that moment, something else disturbed my sense of serenity. In the distance, I heard the brrraaaccckkk-blatt-brrraaaaack of trail-riding motorcycles. The sound rapidly drew closer.
I dragged the dog off the trail into the underbrush. Two boys – I\’d guess them at about 12 years old – blasted by, leaving my ears ringing.
I can\’t claim they were riding dangerously, although they did not slow down at all in our presence. They wore helmets and gloves. They were not racing. They did not attempt to hurtle through the air.
For some people, gardening is their way of getting back in touch with the primordial harmony symbolized in the story of the Garden of Eden. For me, it is walking in the woods, or along the lakeshore.
And for me, the intrusion of those two motorcyclists shattered the illusion of paradise just as effectively as the serpent and apple did in the original story.
Enforce existing regulations
\”Times New Roman\”> Fifteen minutes later, as dog and I emerged at the paved road, a cop car cruised by, its driver peering into the shadows of the undergrowth. I assume someone had called and complained.
In that 15 minutes, though, the kids were gone, over the hills and far away.
But why do we wait until someone does something offensive or illegal before protesting? Most jurisdictions already have regulations that could cut this behavior off at the pass, so to speak.
Noise bylaws.
Quiet trail bikes would have far less appeal to small boys of any age. Part of the attraction of such machines is the in-your-face cacophony that insulates their users from the world around them.
So don\’t wait to nab the perpetrators in action – nail them at the source. Require all new motorized equipment to conform at the time of sale – motorcycles, cars, lawnmowers, diesel trucks, chainsaws… Make manufacturers responsible for the noise level of their products. Randomly test other equipment in garages and driveways.
And if it makes too much noise, lock it up until the owner installs suitable sound deadening devices.
And while I think of it, don\’t forget mobile loudspeakers. We used to hear a neighbor\’s boyfriend coming in his boom-box over a kilometre away.
Shattered myths
\”Times New Roman\”> The Creation story has enthralled our collective imaginations for over 3,000 years. I cannot imagine the Garden of Eden with chainsaws roaring, loudspeakers blaring, or motorcycles blasting through the trees. Can you?
Then why, I wonder, do we tolerate the destructiveness of excessive noise today?
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Copyright © 2002 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups permitted; all other rights reserved.
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