Facts. One time we were talking about how cool it would be to live really close to a mall as a kid.

Then we realized that our local mall has no pedestrian crossings or even sidewalks, so you'd still have to get adults to drive you even if you were across the street. Or play frogger across several lanes

Having recently moved to Europe, I occasionally miss the convenience of driving but overall it's so much better.

Just getting to chill on my commute and not have to worry about traffic is so nice.

When it's very cold or rainy it would be nice to drive to the store. I do miss being able to buy a week+ worth of groceries and loading up the trunk

Overall this is still way better.

I mean, yes that's absolutely true, but many Americans really do prefer to drive even short distances. When I lived in North Carolina people regularly drove to the other side of the parking lot to eat, shop at different stores, meet up with friends, etc. I asked several people why they didn't walk, and every single one said they hated walking and would drive or re-park if it was further than a few seconds walk.

But...you are (supposed to be) a democracy. So you fucked yourself for 100 years?