Freedom Highway

Travelogues set landscapes in motion, and Freedom Highway exploits the roadside panorama as an excuse to celebrate American mythologies. Hanging in the sky as if they were ghosts, patriots, warriors and the myths they exemplify -- the frontier, national independence and manifest destiny -- come to life at key points along the transcontinental route. Although Americans are widely considered to be a practical, well-grounded people with their eyes on the future, Freedom Highway shows a nation in need of spiritual and patriotic renewal, and this renewal is to be sought in our past. The bus -- the most democratic means of transportation, a great equalizer between people, is the perfect vehicle for the freedom highway, a big metal box on wheels in which the faithless ride and rediscover their lost belief. The busbound journey through space will become a journey through time as great moments and personalities in U.S. history are recreated. Throughout this century, but especially during the Cold War era, the American landscape has been dominated by visions of past struggles and victories. A look at the familiar images in the supplement, all drawn from vintage road maps, testifies to the fa