When I stand on a street corner and the green “go” sign lights up, I still wait about 10 seconds and look both ways before I cross.
In the past, before the pandemic, I crossed immediately. But in the last couple of years, I began to notice many cars speeding through red lights in San Rafael. More people are driving recklessly. Running red lights has become more common.
Cars more frequently race at well over 80 mph on Highway 580, weaving between cars. Tailgating has increased. The statistics reinforce my impressions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 38,680 traffic deaths in 2020 across the U.S. – the highest total in 13 years.
“There’s something happening here. But what it is ain’t exactly clear,” to quote an old Buffalo Springfield song. It fits the pandemic. Is it anger? Is it rebelling against the rules? Is it a reckless sense of release from the boredom and restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic? While identifying the cause is still a guessing game, the behavior correlates with the virus crises.
It’s not just autos. It’s many people wearing masks uselessly under their noses. It’s an unvaccinated person mingling in a crowd. It’s more bicyclists riding two abreast into the middle of the road on curvy White’s Hill, going way out of the bike lane. The other day one blocked my view of cars coming around the curve as he rode down the middle of the road, then responded to a very gentle tap on my horn by giving me the finger and tailgating my car. It’s not new. It’s just that it unfortunately feels normative right now.
Restaurant behavior is a microcosm of the gulf between integrity and the law. I don’t understand restaurants not requiring proof of vaccination. I know they are struggling for economic survival and there’s no legal mandate, though there should be. But sometimes morality and care for others, individual integrity, is needed without the power of legal enforcement. I don’t wish the unvaccinated ill will and hope they don’t get sick, but all patrons should be protected.
Beyond the changes needed in our attitudes and behavior, we need to help our children make sense of all of this and learn from it. It’s an unfortunate teachable moment.
They need to learn that freedom and license are different. There’s an old adage that says, “your right to swing your fist stops where my face begins.” They need to learn that while we need to respect the beliefs of the unvaccinated, we don’t need to accept behavior that endangers others – similarly to the pulled down mask or reckless driving.
Adolescents are capable of learning that the highest level of moral reasoning and action is not law enforcement, but a higher sense of morality about endangering others. They need to understand that feelings of frustration, disappointment and, perhaps, boredom are no justification for actions that negatively affect others.
They need to learn that unvaccinated people have a right to their beliefs, but absolutely no right at all to endanger the lives of others.
They need to learn that sometimes it’s as clear as right and wrong, with no gray area in between. Coming into a restaurant unvaccinated poses a threat to others and someone doing that is wrong. There is no valid other side. They need to learn that behaviors that endanger the lives of others do not deserve tolerance.
We have to teach our kids the great value of civility and courtesy. They are growing up in an increasingly anarchic and self-centered world, most definitely including this liberal county.
For all who are reading this and are unvaccinated, I hope you stay healthy and never get this terrible illness. I also hope that you will do whatever you can not to endanger others. Parents and teachers, I hope you will help your children to understand the importance of attending to the common good.
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February 14, 2022 at 03:40AM
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Marin Voice: Pursuit of courtesy, civility difficult amid pandemic frustrations - Marin Independent Journal
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