What makes us so resistant to change? It seems many developments — especially technical developments — are unwelcome for the first few years.

Case in point: electric vehicles.

I am amused by the memes and comments on Facebook that ridicule electric cars or EVs for short. Certainly there are hurdles to clear before EVs become common on our highways

A friend purchased a new EV within the last year and loves it. He is aware of the vehicle’s shortcomings (like range) but plans his trips accordingly.

I don’t anticipate ever owning an EV because engineers keep designing cars smaller and smaller and I have yet to see an EV large enough and inexpensive enough to meet my needs.

Prices for EVs and their expensive batteries are bound to go down over time. Case in point: Nearly 20 years ago a 43-inch flatscreen television cost $2,000 or more. Today you can purchase the same size TV for less than $200.

Nearly 50 years ago I heard folks complain about front-wheel-drive cars. The technology, they complained, would make repairs and servicing extremely difficult and expensive.

Today the majority of cars on the road operate with front wheel drive and most of us love it, especially on the Midwest’s snow-covered roads. Well-trained mechanics service our cars handily and, frankly, most auto repairs are expensive these days.

Then there was the advent of steel-belted radial tires. This advance promised motorists better and safer handling, a smoother ride and a longer life. When I put steel-belted tires on my 1971 Ford a close family member threw a fit. “Your tires are flat,” he protested looking at the lower profile of the tires. He said a friend of a friend had a friend who had steel belted radials on his car and had gone into the ditch because the tires were so flat.

A few years later he had steel-belted radial tires on his car. He didn’t go in the ditch because the tires were flat and I kept my mouth shut. That was difficult.

More than 50 years ago a cable television company proposed to install a cable system in the community in which I was living. The proposal required approval by a vote of the community’s residents and, in typical Iowa fashion, a group quickly came into opposition.

One of the reasons for the opposition was, the naysayers falsely maintained, because the cable would be strung on city utility poles from laths nailed to the poles. The argument was ridiculous, of course, but the lies kept cable away from the community for several years.

Eventually cooler heads prevailed and the community now has cable television service. I’m willing to bet that some of the earlier protestors were among the first subscribers.

When I was a kid, some families (including mine until 1957) refused to purchase a television set because they were deemed sinful. A neighbor lady claimed that if there was an antenna on the roof there was a devil in the house.

Today just under 97% of U.S. households have at least one TV that is used to watch programming. Some folks apparently changed their minds.

When we first moved into the Des Moines metro there was a great brouhaha over the proposed Wells Fargo Arena. Petitions were being circulated to stop construction of the arena. The reason: Protestors feared the arena would become a burden for taxpayers.

The arena proposal advanced anyway and today it is a wonderful asset to the metro and the entire state. In addition to the economic boost the Iowa Events Center (including the arena) provide to central Iowa, it provides cash flow to Polk County. The most recently available annual report indicates Polk County benefited $3.4 million.

True confession: I’m a photo snob and when digital cameras were introduced in the 1990s I was not impressed. Within about 10 years digital cameras had progressed in picture quality and a price I can afford. I am now a fan and would not want to go back to film technology.

If some people had their way, we would still be going to grandma’s house over the river and through the woods in a horse-drawn sleigh.

Arvid Huisman can be contacted at huismaniowa@gmail.com. ©2024 by Huisman Communications.