Driving. What the hell? If there's one experience I wish I could do without, driving would be it.
At first, it's a good experience. I remember, I was really excited to get my license. The freedom, the control, the power, a milestone in our culture.
However, it quickly turned into a MUCH less-than-plesant experience.
And people don't really bitch about it as much as they should. I guess it's just because they either heavily contribute to it... or just really accept it as part of life. Probably both. You know? Road rage, traffic jams: Boo hoo, part of life.
What I find interesting is how people change and act completly different in a car. It's every man for himself and the faster you can get to your destination, the better. And it doesn't matter if you have to be rude to other people to accomplish this.
Like with in-game playing, we loose all of our sight ability. For example, when shopping, a man may open a door for a lady... let her go first. However, on the road, where you can't see who is who... everybody is just a target of your annoyance because they're in your way. Right?
It's so funny to observe people in the school parking lot... these people driving in like mad, racing to get parking spots, honking, driving too fast... and then it's this tiny little blonde female that are so sweet in class. What's the deal?
There are many websites and even books dedicated to the topic. Suggestions such as putting yourself in a "bubble" where noone can harm you, while you drive and other self-help ways to think so people don't get so frustrated. There's also more than enough road rage cases... There's even been suggestions to make LCD boards to display messages such as "Sorry" or "Thank you" so people don't misunderstand. Eventually, it was ruled out as a distraction and was never put into place. (Hah, think of how much that'd be abused... some geek would find a way to write "Fuck you" on it.. lol).
There's also evidence to support that faster & more aggressive driving DOES NOT get you to your destination faster. If it does, it's only by like 30 seconds. DO YOU REALIZE THIS?! I'll still catch up with you at the stop light, in the right line yo.
I mean, good God, is it that hard to take things a little bit slower? To take a step back and realize everybody is just trying to get to where they need to be?
I've come to a realization that the way people drive really tells a lot about their character. If they can drive calmly and be nice to other drivers... it really says a lot. I think that's so much self control and compassion without your eyes telling you who to be nice to.
On a side rant, did you ever notice that the worst drivers are females in SUV's? I'm serious. They either drive too fast or too slow. Observe next time you're out - you'll see.
Speaking of SUVs.... Why the hell do you even own one... If you don't off road, you shouldn't even own-- you know what, nevermind on that note. xD
Furthermore, this takes me back to one of my teachers view on skepticism. Since when is it our moral obligation to obey traffic laws? Is it? I think so. Don't you feel bad if you blew that red light? You may even think, "Shit, I shouldn't have done that.... " It is interesting to see how this has such a huge impact on our morals and values.
Um, so yea. Slow down and be nice.
Tags: Driving Car Rant Leiluna
.jpg)
July 01, 2008 08:19 AM
