Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Not About the Election

There was a 100km long traffic jam in China which lasted for days. Ever been stuck in a jam like that? When I heard the story I began to imagine everything that would not have happened because of the people on that freeway not being able to get to their destinations. Frustrating doesn't even come close to describing the feelings associated with such a monumental impediment to the execution of their business. That's like saying that apple pie and ice cream is a passable dessert.

The news report mentioned that the people involved were making the best of the situation. That's not what I do when I'm caught in traffic. I get agitated, and start fretting about how I'm going to be late, and how as a result of my tardy arrival, the world will cease spinning on its axis. How much does what I do and when I do it really matter in the overall scheme of things? None of those poor Chinese and Mongolian motorists know that I was fifteen minutes late to work nor would they give two hoots if they did. If I tried to explain to them how important it was, and how essential my arrival was, I would be laughed off the road and out of my car, and into some lonely hole in the ground where I could anxiously contemplate my bleak future in profound obscurity.

I'm a bit stupid sometimes.

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