From The Storyteller

September 25, 2017, Yellow Light

Most of my adult life I have struggled with a moral dilemma. It began when I started driving. The traffic lights go from green, to yellow, to red. Running a red light is not a wise thing to do. Traffic tickets are one deterrent, however the big reason is much more serious. People who run red lights have a very good chance of plowing into someone who didn’t.

My dilemma - When a green light turns to yellow should I speed up to make the light or slow down to stop for the red? Sounds simple – the wise choice is to slow down because it’s safer. In my younger years however, the urge to speed up and “run” the light was strong and the wise choice of slowing rarely happened.

Over time, slowing down has been winning far more often, resulting in me sitting at more red lights. If I am first in line – no problem. If however, there are cars in front of me – my struggle appears. I start evaluating the drivers in front of me.

Does this one understand that green means go? Do they know if they have a green they don’t need to wait for the next green arrow? Hey, right turn on red is okay! The light changed - quit texting! If they don’t hurry I could be stuck waiting for the next light! This evaluation happens in a matter of a few seconds. If the resulting answers are negative - unkind words tend to magically appear from my mouth.

The dilemma – should I improve my attitude toward other drivers by running more yellow lights, or do I adopt a more forgiving attitude toward the drivers in front of me?

Moral - How to be a better person requires tough choices.