Traffic Cameras

The Polk County Board of Supervisors has recently authorized traffic cameras for rural areas of Polk County on a party vote of democrats for and republicans against. This is enough to cause a person to cross party lines and support the forces of reaction and imbecility. According to newspaper reports this decision has nothing whatsoever to do with revenue, but with safety. If this statement is true, it is another example of elected officials assuming that the pubic is a complete dunce. It is so patently false to be ludicrous. Of course it has to do with revenue, or as we say, revenue enhancement. In the name of safety we will now be tracking the public on rural roads to ensure they don't kill themselves with excessive speed. What I'm looking forward to is the placement of traffic cameras monitoring the stop signs on gravel roads around the countryside. Anyone who would stop for a stop sign on a gravel road where there is no traffic and no intersection meeting of vehicles in living memory, should not be allowed to drive. Traffic signs have two functions: to direct the flow of traffic and to establish liability in the event of an accident. A stop sign is not placed at an intersection for the purpose of requiring a vehicle to stop its forward motion, it is placed at the intersection for the purpose of assisting motorists traversing the intersection if two vehicles should approach it at the same time. A large number of drivers of motor vehicles on our highways pay no attention to anything outside of their vehicle and need help when encountering another vehicle when surprised by seeing one in their vicinity. There are many too many things inside a car to be bothered by what is outside of it. We have people to talk to or text on the cell phone, the radio to adjust, the cd player to manipulate, the cruise control, sandwiches to eat, make up to apply, on ad infinitum. Ergo we need an occasional stop sign or a yield sign to decide who gets to go first. In addition, the psychology of a vehicle operator is different from the psychology of the person when not driving. When not driving, the normal citizen of our great country is compliant, without noticeable aggression, but when behind the wheel changes into an aggressive, compulsive, and rather stupid human. It is remarkably good fortune that even those of the lowest ability to learn are able to drive. Driving a car is superable easy; probably one of easiest things one can do. Cars practically drive themselves. But back to the point, traffic cameras in rural areas are simply another version of tax with the additional governmental function of controlling its citizen's behavior. All I ask is that we see it for what it is. Safety has nothing to do with this so let's just admit it and not be stupid about it. In any event a traffic accident now and then is not such a bad thing. It gives work to wrecker crews, law enforcement, ambulance crews, hospitals, lawyers, and insurance adjusters. By reducing accidents, the supervisors are reducing employment and income. The people earning their income from personal tragedy should put themselves on the next board meeting agenda and voice their concerns.

Defiance

I have often made the seemingly flippant remark that one can't feel right about oneself if one doesn't break the law at least once a day. I would expect that not one of the people who have heard me say that, has taken me seriously. But there is great emotional satisfaction in breaking the law. We are not talking here about murder, burglary, rape, nor credit card fraud, to name a few; we are talking about speeding, red lights, stop signs, and such. Committing a traffic offense isn't so much a sign of moral inadequacy or antisocial behavior, as it is simply an act of defiance. Whether you have thought about it or not, or have consciously come to the conclusion, people do become tired of being told what to do. If you leave your house in the course of a day, you will have some government body constraining your activities whether it be parking in a downtown parking spot longer than you are told you can, crossing the street at some place other than a marked walking zone or against the don't walk sign, changing lanes on the interstate without signaling, texting while driving: the list is practically infinite. And these instances are just the local government injunctions. We are not speaking solely of criminal acts here. We have the ocean of rules and regulations that control every conceivable activity from zoning ordinances, health ordinances, building codes, the Iowa Administrative Code, and the Federal regulations which would take a multistory building to hold. It doesn't take a criminal justice degree or a masters in psychology to understand that people simply get fed up with being told what to do. The surprising thing is that most people do try in most instances to do what they are told to do. I am unconvinced this is a good thing. It certainly reflects a lack of gumption in the general public. Are we all just a bunch of weenies? The argument against such defiance is that our country would devolve into a chaotic state where danger and misfortune would lurk around every corner. This is not a testable hypothesis, but a rationalization. As compliant and ignorant as the general population of the United States is, chaos seems unlikely. And although defiance has a certain positive quality, the current processes of parenting and public education usually eradicate most defiant tendencies of our younger population before they reach of the age of majority. So when a person says that he doesn't feel right about himself unless he breaks the law each and every day, it simply may be wishful thinking-a yearning for the loosening of constraints. And if it means excusing a person for running a stop sign on an empty rural intersection or driving ten miles an hour over the speed limit on an empty highway, the emotional satisfaction derived from such a petty infraction may be well worth it both for the person doing it and the authorities.