Social Contracts...
To have a civil society we need to maintain some simple social contracts...
not sure if I am entirely using that term correctly... but it basically covers what I am saying
We have the law.... then we have unwritten laws... the understood social contracts...
then within our society there is the social contract that we agree as members of the society to obey the laws of this society
Cars should stay on the street...
Pedestrians should walk on the sidewalk and cross at the crosswalk...
simple social contracts
maintaining these contracts are best for everyone
Jaywalking and crossing mid-block
well... this is not Nova Scotia
in this society some responsible jaywalking is fine
but ignorant\selfish street crossing is not in anyone's best interest
granting other's their right to space and their turn... well... that is the social contract
ie. pedestrian has the right of way... when in the crosswalk or when crossing the street with the signal
the jay walking pedestrian that assumes that car traffic will yield to them is acting against the agreement of the social contract
but really... the approaching car is more than likely exceeding the 25MPH speed limit so they are also out of agreement with the law
but the car has physics on their side... so... they as bullies get more rights
but it goes further
and really
I am not certain how everyone did not get the memo
stay to the right is a basic social contract
within our laws and within our logic
but somehow... many people are ignoring this social contract
escalators and moving sidewalks are a great little example of how our social contracts should be maintained
in short there are two basic camps
there those that step foot on the escalator and moving sidewalks and stand still
then there are those that step onto the escalator and moving sidewalks and keep moving
quite simply... those that choose to stand in place need to stand to the right
that is the social contract
somehow... not everyone got the memo
PLEASE STAND TO THE RIGHT!
but it does not stop there...
highway drivers experience this...
slower traffic should drive in the right lane
the left lane is for passing and speeding drivers
personally when driving I do not like to be the fastest or the slowest person on the road
I normally move with the speed of traffic
tending to flex efficiency over high speed
using logic and reason over aggression and recklessness
yet... people have gotten sloppy
sloppy and selfish
they have expanded the parameters of the box
jaywalkers cross not when it is clear... but when they want to
drivers roll through stop signs without any more than a glance for for officer friendly or the risk of crashing into another car
it has gotten ugly out there and I do not see it getting any more pretty any time soon
in the weeks prior to today we experienced some stress and strain
the mid-Atlantic was covered in a blanket of snow... a three foot fluffy blanket of snow...
with the snow comes certain laws... our social contracts
shoveling snow being at the basis of our laws when dealing with snow
it is the law that each home owner must shovel out their sidewalk
otherwise postal carriers and such would not be able to make their deliveries
if the snow is not shoveled people are at risk of injury
so... the law is to shovel your walk
that is the social contract
the... there is the shoveling out of a parking space
with this comes the conflict
there are two sides of this coin
there are those that shovel out their parking space and feel a possessiveness of this space and mark that space with chairs\cones\old useless furniture
then there are those that shovel out their parking space and go about their day... crossing their fingers that that space or another space would be available to park in
before the snow fell the DC Police Chief issued an announcement that it is illegal to save a space
to me...
that is the rule... that is the line to follow... that is the social contract
yet... people chose to act otherwise
two camps divide
if there are opposing ideas of logic
this causes conflict
anxiety and conflict
it is a failed notion for a group to develop their own reasoning against the slated social contract
runners do this... not all runners
but there are a percentage of runners that have decided that it makes more sense to run against traffic rather than with traffic
well... some runners got this memo
NO ONE ELSE GOT THE MEMO!
NO ONE ELSE GETS THE LOGIC!
they are acting against the Social Contract of "stay to the right"
To have a civil society we need to maintain some simple social contracts...
not sure if I am entirely using that term correctly... but it basically covers what I am saying
so·cial con·tract
noun
- an implicit agreement among the members of a society to cooperate for social benefits, for example by sacrificing some individual freedom for state protection. Theories of a social contract became popular in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries among theorists such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as a means of explaining the origin of government and the obligations of subjects.
We have the law.... then we have unwritten laws... the understood social contracts...
then within our society there is the social contract that we agree as members of the society to obey the laws of this society
Cars should stay on the street...
Pedestrians should walk on the sidewalk and cross at the crosswalk...
simple social contracts
maintaining these contracts are best for everyone
Jaywalking and crossing mid-block
well... this is not Nova Scotia
in this society some responsible jaywalking is fine
but ignorant\selfish street crossing is not in anyone's best interest
granting other's their right to space and their turn... well... that is the social contract
ie. pedestrian has the right of way... when in the crosswalk or when crossing the street with the signal
the jay walking pedestrian that assumes that car traffic will yield to them is acting against the agreement of the social contract
but really... the approaching car is more than likely exceeding the 25MPH speed limit so they are also out of agreement with the law
but the car has physics on their side... so... they as bullies get more rights
but it goes further
and really
I am not certain how everyone did not get the memo
stay to the right is a basic social contract
within our laws and within our logic
but somehow... many people are ignoring this social contract
escalators and moving sidewalks are a great little example of how our social contracts should be maintained
in short there are two basic camps
there those that step foot on the escalator and moving sidewalks and stand still
then there are those that step onto the escalator and moving sidewalks and keep moving
quite simply... those that choose to stand in place need to stand to the right
that is the social contract
somehow... not everyone got the memo
PLEASE STAND TO THE RIGHT!
but it does not stop there...
highway drivers experience this...
slower traffic should drive in the right lane
the left lane is for passing and speeding drivers
personally when driving I do not like to be the fastest or the slowest person on the road
I normally move with the speed of traffic
tending to flex efficiency over high speed
using logic and reason over aggression and recklessness
yet... people have gotten sloppy
sloppy and selfish
they have expanded the parameters of the box
jaywalkers cross not when it is clear... but when they want to
drivers roll through stop signs without any more than a glance for for officer friendly or the risk of crashing into another car
it has gotten ugly out there and I do not see it getting any more pretty any time soon
in the weeks prior to today we experienced some stress and strain
the mid-Atlantic was covered in a blanket of snow... a three foot fluffy blanket of snow...
with the snow comes certain laws... our social contracts
shoveling snow being at the basis of our laws when dealing with snow
it is the law that each home owner must shovel out their sidewalk
otherwise postal carriers and such would not be able to make their deliveries
if the snow is not shoveled people are at risk of injury
so... the law is to shovel your walk
that is the social contract
the... there is the shoveling out of a parking space
with this comes the conflict
there are two sides of this coin
there are those that shovel out their parking space and feel a possessiveness of this space and mark that space with chairs\cones\old useless furniture
then there are those that shovel out their parking space and go about their day... crossing their fingers that that space or another space would be available to park in
before the snow fell the DC Police Chief issued an announcement that it is illegal to save a space
to me...
that is the rule... that is the line to follow... that is the social contract
yet... people chose to act otherwise
two camps divide
if there are opposing ideas of logic
this causes conflict
anxiety and conflict
it is a failed notion for a group to develop their own reasoning against the slated social contract
runners do this... not all runners
but there are a percentage of runners that have decided that it makes more sense to run against traffic rather than with traffic
well... some runners got this memo
NO ONE ELSE GOT THE MEMO!
NO ONE ELSE GETS THE LOGIC!
they are acting against the Social Contract of "stay to the right"