panamerican categorical imperative

The figure at right is a representation of the Pan-American Highway. It's more of a dream than an actual length of road, but most of it really does exist. You can drive from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (or Inuvik, NWT, if that's your calling), all the way to Puerto Montt, Chile -- except for a short but almost totally impassable region of Panama known as the Darien Gap. Were the highway complete, the resulting road trip would certainly be a moral imperative. Even with the Darien Gap, you can take a ferry around; and, really -- with a 16,800 mile road, maybe it doesn't matter so much that you can only go half way. Time to acquire a second-hand Volkswagen TDI, a yellow fever shot, and a command of the Spanish language... P.S. What I really want is one of these!