I said this to a friend today when they got angry at someone who was thoughtless in traffic and put her life and ours in danger.
Our society accepts brutality towards others. It even encourages it. Violent attitudes harm more than any video games/movies ever did. I played plenty of violent video games and that didn’t change who I am. I don’t like violence and never accept it.
Yet as individuals, we might feel that violence is the only way. Like when my friend got angry at that thoughtless person. We are too ready to hurt others when most people’s bad judgment only hurts them.
Yes, that woman nearly caused an accident. To be honest, we nearly cause accidents when our mind drifts when we are driving. I know as a driver I focus as hard as I can on the road and ignore whatever else is happening in the car. My job is to arrive safely for everyone around me and I take that duty very seriously. I was driving the car and the same experience didn’t cause any anxiety in me.
Partly because I had driven around thoughtless people all the time and I just expected it. I don’t get mad when a dog does his thing on the lawn. They don’t know better. Unfortunately, some people haven’t learned proper safety but that doesn’t mean that our mood is at the will of other people does it?
What if there had been an accident I can hear you saying. How would your mood be then Mr. Smug with all the answers? I don’t have all the answers. All I can do is choose my reaction and my reaction to only react when there is a problem. Until there is a problem my energy stays with me, not with some thoughtless person.