Life's Traffic Camera

A man, a "conscientious driver", just went through a traffic signal when he noticed that the traffic camera just flashed.  He knew that he drove at the posted speed limit so he was furious at being photographed for a possible violation.  He turned around to make a U-turn to go through the light again.  He made doubly sure he was running at the exact speed limit, even slowing a bit right at where he thought the camera was. The camera flashed again.

He said to himself, "I hope they send me a citation or ticket in the mail. They don't know what's coming from one irate citizen and taxpayer.  Oh, yes, they will hear from me all right." 

Two weeks later his wife called him at work.  "Hey, John, guess what was in the mail today? You got two traffic citations and  fines to boot".

John was gleeful, "Oh, yeah, that's great because I have the letter prepared already.  You want me to read it to you over the phone?"

His wife replied, "Why don't I first read to you what the citations say. The Department of Public Safety cited you for not wearing your seatbelt.  You  were photographed twice at seven minutes, thirty seconds between each offense."

That, in a nutshell, bitter humor aside, describes one of humanity's many pitfalls.  It is our ability to look at everything around us through the "clouded" lenses of our eyes, and through our eyes only.  It is a disability actually that can lead us to make assumptions, suppositions, and misjudgments that can lead to stereotyping what we see around us that can lead to one of the most common side effects of a clouded lens in our mind's eye.

In a divided society, a disunified country, a population segregated by politics, religion, custom and culture, a flash from an imaginary traffic camera is enough to trigger emotions, from an imaginary source followed by reactions and profound hatred  towards situations and conditions that ultimately lead directly against our fellow human beings because we assume too much, we jump to conclusions too soon and before long the chasm is way too wide beyond mending.

On a personal basis, life's traffic cameras are everywhere too.  Unfortunately, often it is not what we thought it was flashing for, because we saw what went through our clouded lenses.  Arguments start that way because we thought we heard something but the other person meant something else. Like the "conscientious driver" who thought about speeding while the camera flashed for an unworn seatbelt, we heard one thing while we form a rebuttal for another.  Soon, we are talking past each other.  Then we wonder how we drifted away from one another over something that we don't even remember what it was to begin with. 

In the U.S. today, Thanksgiving Day is a special celebration for the right reasons. The week is the most traveled time of the year, perhaps equally if not more so than Christmas week but it can also be one occasion for life's traffic camera to flash, often merely perceived when it wasn't.  

If there is a time to put our blinders on, this is the day to do it; so, we do not see the imaginary flashes from our defective peripheral visions. This is the time too for life's traffic camera to be turned off. By everyone.

Enjoy the food, the conversation, football for those inclined to sit on the couch for the rest of the day, or compare notes for those whose eyes are focused on the best deals tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving to All!!!