| Let's start with the all-too-common phenomenom of discourtesy behind the wheel. Most folks, when they drive, treat other people in ways they wouldn't dream of doing if they were face-to-face with them without the protective armor of their vehicles. When you're driving, and the directional signal of the car in the lane next to yours comes on, indicating that the driver wishes to merge into your lane, what do you do? Do you slow down and allow the other vehicle to get into your lane ahead of you? Or do you speed up and keep the other car from getting "in front of" yours??? It's been my personal experience that most people do the latter! This never ceases to amaze me. If you and I, strangers, were entering a building at about the same time, would you deliberately barge ahead of me, walk through the door and slam it in my face? Because by refusing someone the simple, costs-nothing courtesy of allowing them to change lanes, that's exactly what you're doing! And why? This isn't a race. You don't win anything by being ahead of the other car. It certainly costs you nothing in terms of time or anything else to yield to another vehicle. Such a simple thing to do and so very much appreciated! What if somebody cuts you off? I'm sure that's happened to you at one time or another. It's a fact of life that when you share the roadways with other vehicles, sooner or later somebody's going to make an error in judgment. How do you respond? Do you shrug your shoulders and pull back a bit? Or do you speed up, get right up under the bumper of the offending vehicle, blare your horn, open your window, yell obscenities, and give the errant driver the one-finger salute? Or, worse, get out of your vehicle at a stop light and confront the other driver? WHY??? What are you gaining by this? It's over! The driver probably realized his or her mistake as soon as it happened. The major difference, however, is that on the other driver's part, it was an honest error. On your part, it's deliberate, childish, and extremely dangerous! GROW UP! We all make mistakes, and I'm sure you've cut people off yourself at some time or another. Road rage is nothing to take lightly. If you think of it as a competition every time you get behind the wheel of a car, then do yourself and me and the rest of the world a favor and stay home. The roadways are not a race course, and you're not playing a video game. You're operating a heavy piece of machinery which is extremely capable of maiming or killing somebody, including you. |
| SIX BILLION PEOPLE (cont'd) |