Sometimes they Work

Recently it was reported that traffic deaths had reached their lowest level since 1949. While the details are unclear, it is clear that the RATE of fatalities per mile driven is the lowest since 1949. And the ACTUAL number of deaths is the lowest since at least 1961.Considering we have a whole lot more cars on the road today than in 1961, that’s pretty amazing.

But why is this? What caused the deaths to drop so dramatically? First of all, look at our highways. They’re built differently now: rumble strips on the edges, barriers in the medians, different edge materials, different road substances, and that’s just for starters.

But obviously, a lot of this also has to do with how much safer our cars are now. Since the 1960’s, a whole lot of things are on cars that weren’t there before.

Off the top of my head, here are a few:

• Elevated brake lights
• Head rests
• Seat belts in all cars
• Air bags in all cars
• Seat belt laws
• Drunk driving laws
• And about a million more.

And I’m pretty sure that all of these things are government mandates. Sometimes called “government regulations.” These seem to me to be ones that work. Unfortunately, it is popular for politicians and other “really important people” to speak of all government regulations as things that can only destroy businesses, ruin the economy, and just add to the "nanny state."

It is doubtful that we really want to get rid of these government regulations. But yet, all we seem to hear about government regulations is negative. While I would certainly agree that the government can really step in where they are not needed, we really do a disservice by characterizing any kind of government regulation as a bad thing.

Sometimes they work. Imagine that.

Which Way Will I Go?

I've noticed something about getting old.  It seems that people either go one way, or the other.

I don't mean health wise, (Obviously, we all go down hill health wise eventually!) No, I mean spirit wise. I've noticed that as we get older, we either get nicer, or we get real mean. I've seen it over and over.

Take “Bob.” He’s a nice one. You know, the one who says “Hey, what do you need? I got some time.” He’s the one who doesn’t complain if your dog goes in his yard. He’s the one who waves you on in your car when you’re trying to get into the busy traffic. He’s the one who lets you cut in line at the grocery store when you are holding 15 items because you didn’t really think you’d need a cart. And he’s the one who asks how things are going, then actually waits to hear the answer.

Then take "Don." He's a mean one. He’s the one who scowls at the parents of the crying baby in the grocery store. He’s the one who just knows that kids nowadays are all lazy and disrespectful. He’s the one who tips 10% because “hey, they get paid anyway.” And he’s the one who is sure that everyone in the government is a damn fool.

His attitude goes something like this: "I've lived a long time, and I'm tired of trying to be nice to everybody. Now, I just say what I think. I'm old enough, I don't care any more."

Don forgets that just because you think something, that doesn’t mean you should say it. Even if you think that somehow you’ve earned that right, you still can hurt someones feelings. And just because you’re old, it doesn’t make that hurt any less. And just because you’re old, it doesn’t necessarily make you wise.

So I wonder which way I’ll go. Maybe I’ve already made one of those turns, and I’m already on my way. Honestly, I watch for this. When I hear myself getting nasty with the customer service rep on the phone, I start wondering.  When I start screaming at the car in front of me because it’s not going fast enough for my liking, I notice it. I don’t want to be Don. I want to be Bob. Is this something we can choose? Or is it just part of our DNA, like our eye color or height? I hope not. I like to think that, when it comes to behavior, we all have choices. We all have different natural tendencies, so maybe the right choice is harder for some of us. But I hope we still have the option to do what is right.

I really hope I make the right turn.

Could I Have Done That?

We’ve all heard all kinds of stuff about the bin Laden killing this week. About the Navy Seals, the intelligence gathering, the President, and on and on. It got me wondering whether I would have had the right stuff for something like this. I have trouble with war, I have trouble with killing. And while I can’t be excited at the death of even someone as obviously evil as bin Laden, I definitely feel that this was the right thing to do, and I’m glad it happened. But could I have done it?

Take the Navy Seals. They’re just one of the Special Forces in the military. I’m not sure of all of them, but I know the Green Berets are their army counterpart. And whether it’s the Seals or the Green Berets, I know only certain guys can make it in. We’ve all heard about the mission, and what they had to do. Could I have done that? Just pretending I was young enough, smart enough, in shape enough, and tough enough to make it in, could I have done that mission? Could I have boarded that helicopter, rapelled down, gone through the compound? Not knowing whether I was going to step on a mine or ignite a bomb with my next step? Not knowing whether there was a sniper waiting to take me out? Not knowing what was around each corner? And then, when I faced the target, could I have done what they did? Could I have pulled the trigger on an old man standing there with his wife and child? I don’t know.

While not nearly as spectacular, what the President did might have been, in it’s own way, just as difficult. Yes, I know as President, he has to be able to give the order to kill. That alone would be difficult enough. But in this situation, a lot was on the line. Many of his advisers counseled against this plan: they recommended bombing, or drone strikes, or possibly other ideas. But he chose this one. The risk was enormous, both for the country and for him personally. There were so many things that could have gone wrong. If that mission had failed miserably, which was likely, we would have been branded as terrorists ourselves, who invaded a sovereign ally, and on and on.  And Obama would have been smeared across every news outlet in the country as hopelessly unfit for the position of Commander-In-Chief. When Jimmy Carter attempted a similar mission 30 years ago, that’s exactly what happened. It failed horribly, and Carter never recovered.

You know, none of us ever know what we’re made of until we get in that situation. Will we react, or will we retreat? Will we have the courage, or will we back away? Will we have the strength to stand, or will our weakness consume us? Until we’re there, we just don’t know. In many ways, I’m glad that I will probably never be in that position. Yet in some strange way, I want to be. I would like to know if I have, inside me, the courage, the strength, the determination, and the desire, to do what the Seals or the President did.

The fact that I may never know, is both comforting, and troubling.