Playing in Traffic

I have always been amused by the signs people post announcing their children or pets are playing in traffic and ordering drivers to be careful of them.

Now, pedestrians do have the right of way. Drivers should be careful and avoid hitting children, pets and pedestrians.  But wouldn’t it make sense to teach your children NOT to play in traffic?  That is what we did.

If I am driving, at the speed limit, and I see a sign “Slow Children” I wonder two things. One is how and why anyone thinks they have the right to change the speed limit. The other is why don’t they raise their children to avoid dangerous places.

There are places and neighborhoods where playing in the street is safe such as cul-de-sacs, dead end roads and private drives.  But a busy street just isn’t the place to play.

The other day there were a few children playing in the street.  As I approached, one of them, about 10 years old, gave me hand signals to slow down.  Now, I wasn’t driving fast. In fact, I had just turned onto the street.  I was below the speed limit.  Instead of telling the other kids to get out of the street because a car was coming, he thought it was reasonable to “direct traffic.”

This is a serious problem. This child has learned it is everyone else’s responsibility to conform to what he wants and to protect him rather than learning personal responsibility.

I often see the same attitude with people walking in groups on the highway.  Again, we share the road. Walkers, bikers, cars and trucks all have the right to use the highways.

I often wonder just what people are thinking when they walk side by side filling the street or highway.  Are they saying the person to the left is the most expendable?

I also often see people walking “with the traffic,” that is, in the same direction.  Safety dictates walking facing traffic.  Why would I ever want cars to sneak up behind me?

The only time I would walk “with” traffic is when hitchhiking.  Then I stop and face traffic with my thumb out. It has been years since I hitch-hiked but I still remember how.  In my experience, when someone is walking with traffic it means they would appreciate a ride even if they don’t have a thumb out so I stop and offer a ride if I can.  Often the answer is “no thanks, I’m just walking.”   Apparently adding danger to a walk increases the enjoyment.

On a side note, back when I hitchhiked often I noticed that every time a car passes, it always sounds like they speed up as they pass.  They don’t, this is just an auditory anomaly.

We should all share the road. But all of us should respect the others.

The Debt Ceiling

Congress has been debating the debt ceiling. There are, as always, two camps. One wants to increase spending drastically, the other just wants to increase spending less. They will eventually increase spending.

I have a problem when they claim to have reduced spending by decreasing the proposed increases while actually increasing spending.

This is bull. They (everyone that votes for an increase) are being irresponsible. They should do what many Americans do regularly, that is:  

Don’t spend what you don’t have. 

Our government is just like all of the folks who are playing big shot on borrowed money.  There are millions of Americans who would be forced to file for bankruptcy if their credit cards were cancelled. They couldn’t survive without additional credit.

I don’t know if we are electing people who were already doing this or if they learn from previous leaders who did this but they are all wrong. At some point there will be a day of reckoning.

We owe it to future generations to live within our means both individually and as a country.