You don’t say: It’s total anarchy out there

You’d have to be living off the grid in a cave somewhere not to realize the world has changed in some basic and very dramatic ways since those “good old days” we all like to fantasize about. There’s nothing particularly warm and fuzzy about life in this new millennium. It’s a cold, hard, fast-paced world out there and no one’s looking to cut you any slack, Jack.

I see it every day when I venture out on area roads.

Now granted, I’ve gotten a bit older and, thankfully, in less of such an all-fired hurry to get wherever it is I may be going, but I cut my teeth driving on the German Autobahn and other highways in Europe, so no one has ever accused me of going too slow while behind the wheel. Despite this, it seems I am now one of the few people on the road who at least pretends to be making an effort to stay within five or 10 miles over the posted speed limit. Meanwhile, I’m being passed by one vehicle after another going at least 20 miles an hour faster than I am.

For a while now I’ve observed these drivers fly past me while tailgating — also known by some as “drafting” — the vehicle in front of them. Just a guess on my part, but perhaps the popularity of NASCAR has contributed to this overly aggressive style of driving. The one thing I can say with certainty is that there is no particular gender, ethnic or age group I can point the finger at. Everyone is doing it. What’s happening here?

I began taking notice of these scofflaws about 10 years ago as they ran red lights long after my light had turned green. After a few near misses, I learned to lay back and wait a few seconds before moving through an intersection. I’ve even learned to ignore the blaring car horns behind me. Then these same folks began running stop signs, speeding through school zones and in construction areas. This was soon followed by their failure to yield right of way, improper merging, and pretty much every other traffic offense once covered in high school drivers education classes back in the day. I won’t even talk about those folks who hog the passing lane, don’t use turn signals to indicate a lane change and don’t turn on headlights during inclement weather. Those are just the good old standby bad habits these anarchists added to their bag of tricks long ago.

I say long ago, but when exactly this all begin?

When did we as members of society decide the rule of law no longer applied to us; that it is our right as individuals to determine which laws, ordinances or rules, if any, we will or will not adhere to? Who out there honestly thinks a free-for-all on our roads is a good idea?

In the interest of full disclosure and fairness, I will admit to being a bit of a rebel myself.

I had long hair when it could still catch you a beating, and I still have a definite anti-authority bent, even at my advanced age in life. But this “bent” is primarily philosophical and not one that would ever put me in the position of endangering others or myself as a means of expressing contempt for the powers that be. As stated earlier in this column, I always drive near the speed limit. I also stop at lights and stop signs. I yield, merge well and make the effort to abide by the various other “rules of the road,” which help mitigate the danger inherent in piloting a ton or more of steel, plastic and glass down the road … or would if more people went back to following them.

So what is it?

What’s going on?

While daily fussing over and fearing terrorist attacks, mass shootings and random street violence, per annum we perpetrate far more mayhem on roadways nationwide than all those other random events combined. It truly makes one wonder.

How can we, on one hand, pretend to be well-adjusted, friendly, caring people; upstanding citizens even, but behind the steering wheel of our cars, lose all sense of propriety and sound judgment? How can we seemingly forget or simply not care, we are hurtling down the road in a deadly projectile while weaving through traffic as we look down at our phones and text?

As with everything, it boils down to personal choice. As individuals, we are free to choose to do the right thing or simply to do that which is expedient and in our own interest. We’re asked to make these kinds of choices multiple times a day. Unfortunately, more and more folks seem to be inclined to go with expediency and self-interest over the common good … and not just on the road. You can see this attitude across the broad spectrum of daily activities which brings us into close contact with one another.

Much has been made in recent years of the social divisions within our nation; the various conflicting socio-political ideologies and agendas at work attempting to change the domestic, if not global, landscape. If some of the pundits I’ve heard have it right, a large segment of the middle class on both sides of the fence is extremely unhappy with most of what’s happened over the past fourty-odd years, and which continues today; the constant assaults on the very fabric of our daily lives.

Yet, instead of a general acknowledgment that we are all in this mess together and therefore should perhaps be a bit kinder and more caring toward one another, if for no other reason than it might just come back around to us one day, this existential dilemma seems instead to have triggered some kind of “the strong shall eat the weak” mentality.

You’ll be just fine as long as you keep the pedal to the metal, but you’re going to get rolled right the hell over if you get in someone’s way; whether you’re on the road or not. You can pretty much count on it, because it’s total anarchy out there.

Van Elburg has been a resident of Williamsburg, James City County for more than 30 years. He is semi-retired from a multi-faceted business career and currently teaches classes on blues music for the Christoper Wren Association. He is a musician, writer and on-air personality and programming director for the mobile radio station, TheBluesAlley.com.