...are the ones that make the biggest difference

8.02.2006

Waa, waa, waa - I want my milk and cookies

Adam, over at Pomomusings recently got a traffic ticket from a red-light camera for running a red. Apparently the large sign indicating red-light enforcement was in effect was not enough to dissuade him from this dangerous act because it did not explicitly state "camera in use." He complains that the sign wasn't clear, the he got a ticket at all and that the fine (a whopping $70 which is a pittance compared to most locales) cannot be appealed to a lower amount. And all this because he entered an intersection only a mere second after the light turned red, as if nothing bad can happen in the space of the few seconds it takes him to clear the intersection. Given that I currently have at least 3 patients recovering from severe brain injury due to auto accidents, and 2 others who are parapalegics from auto accidents a few years back, I found his cavalier attitude towards such a dangerous act rather childish and told him so. Apparently that makes me a "troll" and gets comments closed on the post. Yup, Adam, I'll stick to my own blog where the lives of the people in my community are just as valuable as those overseas.

11 comments:

D. I. Dalrymple said...

A fight! A fight!

I'm putting my money on you, Nathan.

Adam said...

Wow. Gosh, I am flattered that you take me so seriously that you'd put so much energy into alerting your readers to this.

Wow.

The only thing I'm interested in is learning what your blog title and tagline mean? Why would one care about fighting the little fights?

Anonymous said...

Why Adam would you take so much energy to complain and cry about your problem?

Nathan said...

Adam -

I'm not sure how much energy you think this takes but trust me, it ain't much. Its not so much that I take you so seriously, I simply find your cavalier attitude towards an obviously dangerous act to be childish. But then again, you've blogged about reading a book while driving and passing people at unsafe speeds on icy roads, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this latest maneuver.

As to why anyone would care about the little fights - for the everyday experience of most everyone on the planet, what other kind of fight is there? Most people never directly take part in some monolithic cultural or spiritual battle of great import. The only role most of us play in those larger affairs involve our little everyday struggles to live out the Gospel. Those are the "little fights" to which I refer.

Anonymous said...

"We stayed out late after the wedding, didn't get enough sleep before the brunch and before getting on the road for the 8 hour drive back home, so I'm more or less exhausted today."

Nathan said...

Anonymous -

Are you trying to equate my tag-team driving with my wife during daylight hours after plenty of coffee and sufficient sleep to running a red light? You do see the difference, right? I mean, I surely hope that what you lack in courage (I, at least, own up to my own words) you make up for in intelligence.

Anonymous said...

Nathan,

My name is Reagan. I'm an expat living in Scotland, in the second year of my Theological Ethics PhD program at the Univ. of Edinburgh. I don't have a blog, and don't comment frequently, but I hope your angst over my courage has been sufficiently stayed now that I've given you particulars about me. Should we meet on the playground at recess to fight it out? You know, a "little fight."

Frankly, I don't give a damn if you stayed up all night playing w/ a rubber ducky or crafting your latest earth-shattering magnum opus on "the problem with monergism" before splitting driving time with your wife. I was, as I'm certain you were keen to realize, pointing out a perceived discrepancy in this post and previous remarks you had made.

I'm curious--is the other anonymous commenter who was critical of Adam equally uncourageous?

Your welcome to email the answer to me: rndanieliv@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

Good Grief! Can't you all just acknowledge that you don't want to end up the victim of a red light runner, with your car t-boned, your body strapped down to an ambulance's gurney, and facing the consequences of being in the intersection when YOUR light was green but the other guy was too busy to notice that his was red??
Listen to Bob Seeger's song about "Little Victories"...facing the daily battles we each face is what life is all about; the "little fights" are all we CAN win on a personal level! Wherever you are on the planet, managing to end each day living with God in your heart as you meet and deal with others all day long is a daily challenge for every Christian. You individually can't change the cost of gas, or protect every person from being the victim of violence, but you can decide to treat each person you meet with love in your heart and a willingness to try your best to live the life God directs us to live.
So, Adam, grow up. Pay attention when you drive, and hopefully you won't end up with the blood of innocents all over your car.
Reagan, get over yourself.Maybe you need a rubber ducky.
Nathan, continue to take good care of the people who didn't have a chance to live their lives fully in the way they had planned.

Nathan said...

I guess I touched a nerve, eh Reagan? I'd further respond to your staying of my angst, but as an ethicist to be, I'm sure you're keenly aware that you should, in fact, give more than a damn as to what I was doing the night before as such activities would have an obvious bearing on the safety of my drive. I mean, I could have accidentally poked myself in the eye with that rubber ducky leaving me half blind. Obviously an important consideration.

And what is the deal with everyone ripping on my blog title? I've seen some pretty odd or pointless blog names out there and never thought mine was all that bad.

Phil Steiger said...

Lol! Thanks for giving me something to chuckle at today!

Anonymous said...

"Frankly, I don't give a damn if you stayed up all night playing w/ a rubber ducky or crafting your latest earth-shattering magnum opus on "the problem with monergism" before splitting driving time with your wife."

LOL. That's pretty funny.