080403

A couple of things in the paper this morning to comment on: older driver kills person at bus stop, city council saves money by eliminating minutes of meetings. I'll work on the latter issue later.

I think driver's licences should be much more difficult to get in the first place and I think everybody should have to re-up every 5 or 10 years. Age should not be a factor in issuing licences. The sole criterion should be ability to drive and drive well. Most people don't pay attention while driving and that's what causes the accidents. The up-side of licences being more difficult to obtain is that there may end up being fewer drivers on the road and therefore less burning of fossil fuels. Also, people will have to walk and bike and they will be fitter. I think it's a win-win for everybody. BUT taking the test every 5 years should NOT turn out to be a money grab by the government. There should be some small fee - what I call earnest money - but the fees shouldn't prevent people from driving and they shouldn't be a cash cow.

On a completely different note, I dislike people who think they are superior to others, especially if they aren't. Some people try to build themselves up by tearing others down. Sometimes, they do this by using practical jokes to poke fun at people who take the joke seriously. They feel superior because they are in the know and they see that it is a joke, while at the same time they fail to acknowledge that they set the joke up in the first place.

I think we learn how to behave with others very early on and this sets a pattern for the rest of our lives. I suppose it is possible to change this pattern but I think it involves a humongous effort. And if you already feel superior to others, why would you change your behaviour? I know someone whose father put him down all during the time he grew up. I suppose it was how the father had learned to behave - put others down and keep them down so that you don't get put down there with them. Unfortunately he never had the wit to see the damage he wrought in his own child, who forever after felt he was never good enough for anything. It's interesting that the child didn't adopt the same behaviour pattern and instead, feels great empathy for all creatures who are downtrodden. Of course, we are all individuals and react to the same stimulus in different ways.

How you behave successfully with other people and how you learn to be a good driver are both a result of paying attention. The more you pay attention to what is happening, the better results you will have in whatever you are doing.