Politics: Pedestrian Power

Recently I was driving down a five lane road, two lanes in each direction and one center turning lane.

A large lady came very near the road and point out that there was a crosswalk across this road and that there was an inconspicuous boy waiting to cross the road.

I started to slow down and realized that I wouldn't be able to stop in time so I sped on past and saw that the cars behind me began to stop to let the boy cross the road.

Unless this woman had shown the initiative this boy may have indefinitely been waiting for a break in the traffic in order to cross the road.

This was the kind of crosswalk that was not at a stop light and it did not have it's own stop light such as you might have seen that turns red and makes the cars stop for the pedestrians.

The rules of the road are that drivers must yield to pedestrians. Pedestrians are obliged to yield to cars that don't see them in order to preserve their lives and limbs.

When I was in college there was a certain four way stop that was very near campus and during passing period the flow of pedestrians was unceasing.

Cars may have been stuck at that four way stop for 15 minutes or more.

There is no Law governing pedestrians to stop and allow cars to go nor how long they can block cars from the road.

Most college students are entirely oblivious to the plight of these cars stalled there behind the crosswalk.

Having noticed this imbalance in power, I began to stop before crossing the crosswalk in order to allow the cars to move on. Other students would follow suit and stop as I did. Why did they stop? Conformity.
If someone doesn't show the initiative to show common courtesy even though the law does not require them to do so, then nothing will change.

So what can you do? Be that leader, show that common courtesy as a pedestrian, as a driver, in the grocery store, in politics, etc.

I often think that this is a concept that should be observed in such subjects as Rights, whether those be Gun Rights, and Religious rights.

When a majority doesn't stop to Think about what they are doing to those around them, they err greatly, because we are all dependent upon each other. Often litigation can be considered a vehicle, and with such a vehicle one can trample the rights of others.

Sometimes, like the thoughtless college students, crowd after crowd for generations have thoughtlessly crossed the crosswalk leaving a minority stalled at the stop sign for centuries (life times). Until one day the minority becomes a majority and if they have the vehicle of litigation the inconspicuous pedestrian waiting to cross the road may be left there stalled almost indefinitely.

Laws and common courtesy should provide a way for the Rights of both the majority and the minority to be respected, regardless of who has the vehicle of litigation.