This is not about cell phones.! I know people are tired of hearing about cell phones, so I repeat this is not about cell phones! But I got to go there to get somewhere else. Bear with me.
Over on B&R's forum there is currently a heck of a thread/discussion going on about how to address cell phone impaired drivers. For the most part the argument is not over whether or not the driver is impaired or not. Which would be pretty much like preaching to the choir (on that site), but how to address the problem. The current flare up of this ongoing concern, is related to some close calls experienced by different persons and their desire to quit screwing around and take significant action (I will cop to being one of them). Some of which might be questionable legally (but probably more effective). However some are genuinely concerned enough to explore how far should one go to address a significant problem.
Even over there (B&R's forum) however, a post will occasionally crop up that makes it glaringly evident that a great many people still don't get it. And I figure if there are some that don't get on that site, where the information has been posted over and over, then I got to wonder how many "bikers" and "cagers" alike actually do get it. Then I got to wonder some more stuff. Like ok, how many do get it but don't give a damn, how many get it but know that it doesn't apply to them, or how many who have heard that , “Hey this might be a problem,” have even bothered to check it out? It's hard to determine what the answer may be because I have yet to see a statistical analysis of the general populations “cell phone awareness IQ”.
And I seriously doubt that we will ever be able arrive at an honest statistical analysis to the question: “Are we stupid?”
Now I have a tendency to wonder things and generally don't need any motivation to wonder. Sometimes I can kill a whole day in front of the T.V. guide channel with a nine volt battery stuck to my tongue just wondering. Now some reading that are going to think well thats just stupid or crazy. But have you tried it?
Now most people probably won't and I'm ok with that. There are some things in this world I have no desire to investigate. Different strokes for different folk, know what I mean? But there are some folk I got to wonder (theres that damn word again) what do they base any thought or opinion on?
For instance I have a friend (yes I know, as improbable as that may seem) who rides a motorcycle and who also, when in their car (I ain't gonna say him or her because I have had this almost exact conversation with more than one person) is pretty much on the phone the whole time they are driving. So stupid me asks the silly question,
“how can you do that when you know you are at a higher risk of killing someone or yourself while talking on the phone and driving”. Well the person is like, “oh I don't believe that, besides I use an ear piece”. Well duh, “what do you mean you don't believe it. Have you read the research on Madd Rays that I suggested you may wish to read (I know they can read. I could swear, I have seen them doing it. Well at least they were looking at words and not pictures), ” to which the response is “no, I just know I drive fine, I don't need to read it “. well argggggggggggggggghhhh!
I'm thinking what kind of bull&#!% answer is that? So I start thinking past cell phones and start wondering about some other things. Like why did the person not read something that might be relevant to whether or not they lived or died??? In fact I think I may have asked that question, at least once, and got a response on along the lines of, “I don't like reading that kind of stuff.” (I also suspicion that one reason folk don't check stuff out is because they are afraid of what the answer may be and they could no longer justify their current reality).
Well hello, heres a real stretch ok, and at the end (if any one who has read this far reads that far) some are going to say what does that have to do with cell phones? But remember at the top? I warned ya it wasn't about cellphones. Ok heres the stretch.
A whole heap of Senators and Representatives that should have read intelligence reports, after some wacko terrorists (mostly from someplace other than Iraq), flew a plane into the twin towers, did not read the intelligence reports. And because they did not read the intelligence reports or the follow-up intelligence provided by people who were paid to provide follow-up intelligence allowed some individual (and we ain't really sure who the top individual is are we?) to convince us that because some wackos flew a plane into the twin towers killing a heap of people, Iraq was fixing to whack us with nuclear weapons and we best go over there and kick some ass (Look out Iran, your next). Hell it won't take long and there will be few casualties. Won't take more than a few weeks and even if does take longer we will declare mission accomplished even if it isn't.
Now call me whacked or stupid because I'm sitting around holding 9 volt batteries to my tongue while watching the tv guide channel. But I'm thinking that with all them intelligence reports floating around it wasn't very intelligent for us to go getting a bunch of our soldiers killed without out first reading them huh? What do YOU think? And if you do “think” does it matter what you “think”? Because if you haven't checked out recently how close your thinking matches up with reality (don't ask me what it is, look it up) then your thinking don't mean squat. Therefor please don't vote in the next election because even though the ignorant are allowed to vote in America it does not necessarily mean it is in our best interest that they do so as apparently we have enough ignorant people in Washington as it is. And if this pisses somebody off good. It is meant to. And maybe bad enough to motivate one or two.
See, Went right past cell phones and straight to rant. Told you it wasn't about cellphones.
Which brings me to Freedom and rights. OK how did I get from not about cell phones to terrorists, to Iraq, to checking your thinking out, to Freedom and rights. Well lets go back to cell phones for a second (whoops, I swear I didn't lie, this will only take a minute). See some folk think that by some magical occurrence of fate that they happened to be born in America that they are automatically guaranteed certain freedoms and rights. And theoretically that is true. But first you got to learn just what your freedoms and rights are, how to did you get them and how will you keep them. No, no, no, Uncle Sam is not going to insure them. Government is the enemy of Freedom and is why the people that died to give us freedoms and rights (cause thats what it took to get them, a lot of dying) went to great lengths to try and insure that Uncle Sam could not take them. And that we have the right to stop him from doing so.
But see, there is no freedom or right to use a cell phone while driving. Read the law. Driving is a privilege that the state may or may not give you and may or may not take away from you. It is based on you ability to “intelligently” (theres that damn word again) operate a motor vehicle in such a manner as to not make targets out of others that are anywhere near you. Cause some of them targets do have a right to self defense and may decide to exercise them. Yet over and over again people say that I want my right not to have my life taken, by taking their right to run over me because their on a cell phone while driving away. Well heres a clue ok. Check it out instead of engaging in "contempt prior to investigation". You have no guaranteed "right" to drive period and you have no "right" to impede my "right" to use "public" roadways without becoming a target.
See rights and freedoms are a funny thing. For instance we “are” guaranteed the right to free speech which is why I can write this little diatribe and take pot shots at the government (you cant do that in some countries and I do not believe that I am free to engage in "computering " while driving).
But I do remember once when I was a smart ass kid (as opposed to being a smart ass ol guy) hangin out with an older crowd, I said something to one of the older dudes he didn't like. Well my smart ass responded with something like freedom of speech to which he replied, “You know how far that freedom reaches, from the end of my fist to the tip of your nose.” To which he reinforced his words with quite an effective physical demonstration. Which taught me a very important lesson.
To understand the truth one must be willing to seek it and even then it has no meaning unless your willing to fight for it. Ride Free (if your willing to) rc
p.s. told ya it wasn't about cell phones.
