Somewhere out there, some young boy or girl is driving around in daddy’s souped-up sports car without a care for consequences. It is not an unreasonable imagining, as stereotypes exist (for better or worse) because there are enough people who have known, who feel, or otherwise believe that such a person represented by the stereotype exists. Suffice to say, a young adult who is unburdened by the consequences of his actions, because of the connections or wealth of his parents, is at the least, a fable; one we see often enough in teen movies.  

Pause for a moment and listen. What do you hear? Chances are, somewhere in the background, is the ever-present hum of a road.

More than 4.2 million miles of public roads crisscross the lower 48 states – enough to reach the Moon and back almost nine times. This vast network of roads spiderwebs its way across the contiguous U.S., leaving only about 5% as an inventoried roadless area or wilderness.

‘Virtus’ is a Latin word built from the root ‘vir’ which means ‘man’, as is in the English word ‘virile’. The Romans used virtus as an ascription to one's “manly excellence’, courage, and worth as shown in public life,” as per etymology.life. It was like a sort of honor that anyone from a citizen to a soldier to an official could acquire through combat or other trials and tribulations. The virtus was a power, or sort of moral authority. Though the English word virtue is closest sounding to its Latin forefather, it also has its roots in the Greek word “aretē”.