Rule of law

Something a little irritating is how people continue flouting the law to the point where there’s a huge part of society that breaks this rule daily. It’s the simplest thing do avoid doing yet people continue to do this every single day. Red lights are there for a reason. They help coordinate and direct traffic for the safety of motorists and pedestrians. You’d think in something that causes more death than guns and many illnesses would be treated with a little more respect and caution, but no. People will race to beat the red light with every ounce of strength they can muster. They will do so with little regard for the safety of others. It’s almost as though the instant they shut themselves off in their car or minivan, everyone else outside of that little metal box ceases to exist. It’s a battle against the rest of the world as blurry-faced strangers pass by on their way to wherever.

Now comes a story in two parts. For those people running red lights with kids in the car, what precedent are you setting for them when you speed through at the last second, hoping to outgun that split second before the light on the adjacent lane turns green? Are you telling your kids their lives are trivial compared to your need to get somewhere in the blink of an eye? Are you teaching your kids that it’s okay to flaunt the law, so long as your immediate wants are fulfilled? Something else to think about is the lives you may be taking into your hand when you run that red light. Can you imagine the damage you may cause when you abandon caution and common sense, only to shorten your trip by a minute then find out you’ve shortened the lives of someone else’s children forever? What kind of audacity does it take to put someone in the mindset that a few minutes is more important than someone else’s safety?

You should never text while driving. You should never make a U-turn or turn in to oncoming traffic while prohibited by sign or law. Rules apply to everyone. There’s no clause in any subsection on any official document that excuses someone by virtue of their own ignorance or willful disobedience. Stealing a cup of coffee that may be worth one dollar per cup may not seem like a big deal to you, but hey, after four or five of those stolen cups, the company starts to feel that. A life is not so trivial that it can be measured in the amount of minutes and dimes it manages to save for itself. Instead of putting yourself first in the lane, take some time to let over the poor woman struggling to get from job number one to job number two as she makes the first turn into route one. Instead of scrounging your last dollar to swipe a cup of coffee, drop an extra one for the guy behind you who’s barely getting through a double shift. This may be a huge newsflash to some, but life isn’t about you. It’s not a rat race, we’re all stuck on this rock till God calls us home so let’s follow the rules put in place to protect us and look out for one another. It’s hard enough as it is.