Last week when I went to Nacogdoches for my mom's birthday, I made an observation that has had me thinking ever since. Dad and I went to the grocery store and as we were leaving the store driving across the parking lot, a man got out of his car and started walking toward the store. You might note that I didn't say that he got out of his car, looked both ways and started walking toward the store, or checked traffic and started walking toward the store..... he simply started walking toward the store. Right in front of Dad's moving Toyota pick up with no consideration as to whether or not Dad had seen him, would stop or anything else. We had to stop and wait for this man to safely navigate his way into Brookshire Bros. He was a man in his 40's or 50's. Chances are that at some point his mother had taught him to look both ways before crossing a street. But apparently that no longer applies to him.
As we waited, I made a smart alec comment as I often do about how there was a time when people didn't assume that the rest of the world would come to a complete stop simply because they had made a decision to walk across a parking lot. We talked for a few minutes about what the man must be thinking as he casually strolled across the parking lot without looking at traffic forcing not just us, but two other cars to stop and wait so that he would not be inconvenienced by having to turn his head in either direction and use his valuable eye sight to determine if there were any cars coming before walking in front of them. Had any of the three drivers not been paying attention and worrying more for his safety than he apparently was, the results could have been tragic.
This phenomenon is not something that occurs only in Nacogdoches, it happens practically every time I get in a car in any place I drive. I don't know what started it. Was it a courtesy thing? Did people see someone walking across a parking lot with heavy bags and stop so that they could cross then the next time that person was walking across a parking lot, they just assumed that all cars would come to a screeching halt because someone else did once? Don't get me wrong. I don't mind letting someone cross in front of me. I stop. But it should be my decision to do so. How dare they just assume that I will see them and stop? And with all of the texting, Facebooking, calling, etc. that occurs on cell phones while people are driving, how long will it be before there are piles of dead and maimed pedestrians lying near but not quite on the sidewalks at Target?
Of course the driver will be blamed because they were using an electronic device while they were driving which they obviously shouldn't be doing. Meanwhile the stupid pedestrian who never looked in either direction before just waltzing across the parking lot will be lying there in a heap. Then a law will be passed that cell phones are no longer allowed in a car unless it is in the trunk or secured somewhere out of the drivers reach. Forget that a driver can be just as distracted by speaking to another person who is physically in the car with them or by changing radio stations or songs on the Ipod.
Perhaps one day, due to the carelessness of pedestrians, we will have vehicles that only a single person can be transported in so that they are unable to talk to anyone else while they drive. There will be a law against having anyone else in the car with you. You also will no longer be allowed to listen to any music while you drive. There will just be a constant recorded voice coming through a speaker into the car saying "WATCH FOR PEDESTRIANS!" over and over again. And all of this will happen because pedestrians sometime between 1990 and 2012 decided that they should no longer be inconvenienced with having to worry about themselves, that the rest of society should be looking out for them instead.
By the way, these new laws protecting pedestrians won't be the only ones. They are just the ones I am discussing today. Long before your ability to listen to music in your car or to have another human in your car is taken away, you will lose your right to hunt if you are so inclined, because hunting requires a gun which will be outlawed shortly. After all, what kind of mayhem could come about in a society where law abiding citizens are allowed the right to bear arms??!?!!?!? That's just crazy talk. What could our fore fathers have been thinking when they wrote that into our Constitution? And that crazy right where we can choose and practice our own religion? Really?!!?!? What were they thinking???? Were they thinking that as Americans we should each be responsible for ourselves? How can we be allowed to take care of ourselves? We obviously need someone in Washington doing that for us.... you know, deciding what kind of healthcare, I need for myself here in Dallas. Obviously, someone in Washington who has never met me is better equipped to make those decisions for me. And certainly, the people who come to America from foreign lands and decide to live here undocumented should be given the chance to vote on all of this. After all, who am I to insist that undocumented aliens be forced to obey laws they didn't agree to.
In 20 or 30 years when we look back and remember what life was like when we were allowed to make our own decisions I wonder how many people will think about what might have been different if they had just gone to vote. It is voting season. Pay attention for once and don't just vote for someone simply because there is a picture of an elephant or donkey next to his or her name. I don't care what politics you believe in only that you use your brain before randomly voting for a name or symbol. Turn on the news. You might be surprised to find out the direction that our country is heading if we don't do something about it.
Have a good Tuesday. I'm going to Target today. I hope I am able to avoid the obliviates walking in front of my car.
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