Why do we smile?
Jan 15th, 2008 by Ollie Lind
I was driving to the gym the other day, about 8.30am. I had a couple of blocks to go before I needed to turn right, so I was in the centre lane, doing the speed limit.
This small French car loomed up in my rear view mirror and started tailgating me. I wasn’t too concerned. There was no room for me to pull to the next lane to let him through and, anyway, I was doing the speed limit. He got verrrry close, so I raised my hand and waved him back.
We got to a right turn lane and he roared into it. About two hundred yards along the lights turned orange. I slowed down and stopped. He had his hand out the window gesticulating and swung to the right, straight through a red light.
Immediately to my left a gray car accelerated and swung across the front of my car. I caught sight of the blue light on the dashboard and, I must confess, I smiled broadly. No prizes for guessing how the morning of the french car diver was going to turn out.
How often in life, not just on the road, do we see people ‘do the wrong thing’ and seem to get away with it. How many times do we just stand by, shrug, and say, “Life sucks?”
I got to the gym and started my workout, my mind still on the ‘justice’ I had witnessed. You know, our society is built on behavioural agreements, nothing much else. If you think about it, what are laws, or rules in any game?
That’s why I smiled at the incident. The ‘good guys’ won. Every time someone breaks the rules society suffers to that extent. Every time we witness a breaking of the rules and don’t speak up, we, and society suffers to that extent.
Perhaps it’s time for the good guys to strike back.
What do you think?
Live well,
Ollie