Road Rage or Selfishness?

I am typically tough to rattle, simply because I choose to be. That's not to say I never get flustered or downcast, I just believe in "mind over matter," that there are many things we can conquer if we will ourselves to do so. Our minds are surely capable of much more than the feeble uses we put them to. I'll leave that for another day. Rant aborted. On to the topic of road rage...

I have really taken notice of angry drivers lately. Most drivers seem to fall victim to road rage. Who hasn't? What bugs me is when the road rage is unjust. When it comes to driving, people take on an alter ego. It's as if driving from point A to point B becomes not a means of transportation, but a contest. Here are some familiar scenarios:

1) Car "a" is driving along on a fairly busy thoroughfare at about 45 miles per hour. Car "b" needs to turn right, in the same direction car "a" is headed. Car "a" is about 100 yards away, so car "b" takes the opportunity to turn. The driver in car "a" thinks, "Oh, no they didn't!" and gases it to ride on "b's" tail. Is driver "a" trying to prove that "b" is not better than him, so how dare he pull out in front of him, even though "a" could have simply slowed down a little? What "a" failed to consider is that "b may have had a long, hard day at work and had been waiting for a chance to turn for 6 minutes and had a sick child to tend to at home. I seriously doubt "b" thought, "Take this! Na-nee-na-nee-boo-boo!" I therefore dub car "a," SELFISH.

2) Car "a" is driving slowly through a parking lot, looking for a spot to park. Car "b" is leaving the parking lot, also driving slowly. Car "a" turns to drive toward another row and accidentally pulls out in front of car "b." Both cars hit the breaks, remaining several feet away from colliding. "A," immediately realizing she made a mistake, makes eye contact with "a" and apologizes profusely, waving and obviously apologizing. Though car "b" knows car "a" is apologizing and feels bad for the mistake, "b" still gives "a" a look of disdain while shaking her head, to make sure she knows what an idiot she is! Again, the thought, "Oh, no you didn't!" SELFISH.

I understand getting upset when a car makes a potentially life-threatening move and shows no regret for his decision. When it's a minor maneuver, however, there is no need to show dominance simply for the sake of teeming with a false sense of power. Humans will perform egregious acts of disrespect for power. Power can lead us to do awfully dreadful things. Road rage isn't always so terrible. Sometimes, it just makes us feel good to shout about someone's blatantly stupid decision behind the wheel. But, simply not showing disdain toward another driver when he does make a minor error can be an act of kindness all on its own. Now, that's what I call power.

Happy driving!