A Dialogue on a
Forgotten Community.
A community, as defined by the American College
Dictionary, is a "social group of any size whose members reside in a specific
locality." In this day and age we talk about the "global
community", and although my reflection is not global, it is neither
limited to local. I will be reflecting on a mobile community; a community I feel that
is not always recognized as such and one that rarely involves itself in
dialogue. This community is an aggressive and sometimes, violent community
that would rather kill itself than communicate in a responsible fashion, often resorting to
mindless, thoughtless, selfish and dangerous behavior. It is a rare occasion
when a collaborative flow of meaningful dialogue occurs, and an exploration for
truth happens.
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| On the road, copyright Simon Brooks, 2012 |
Like much of life, we get some early instruction and head
out on our own, making it up as we go, learning from mistakes and, therefore,
experience. There are guides that we are given to read on how to use the
Community of the Road, but it seems that we forget most of ft only after a few
years. Our conversations begin with flashing lights at other vehicles that are
in our way, we lean on our horns and yell at people and if all else fails we
cut them up, if we can, at a later point. None of these techniques are in the
instruction book other than as a list of things not-to-do.
I think that some of the problem is that within the
cocoons of our vehicles we believe we are invincible and it would be
inconceivable that we would be in the wrong, but we are. By opening a dialogue
with our fellow community members we would find that life could be so much less
stressful
and more enjoyable. When folks need to merge onto freeways we can merge
by allowing those entering the freeway to join us. Being one car behind will
not kill us and it may even make us feel good helping someone else on their
way. We are all going to the same place, further down the road. Vehicles have their
own language that we, as the drivers, add to. By opening dialogue, using our
indicators (or blinkers), we are letting people know where we want to go. There are no
surprises if we communicate with our fellow travelers, no assumptions. When we know the
person in front is taking a left, we know they are going to slow down and we can allow for
that, but when someone slows down without letting us know why, we become frustrated. We see
such actions as arrogance or stupidity and if you are like me, you will find stupidity
intolerable. Just by waving people on, breaking early, making sure that your
lights are working and blinking only when you want them to blink, displaying self
mastery, we can create a better community using dialogue. Indicators are so easy
to use and make life so much simpler.
It is only laziness and greed that prevent us from being
more courteous. Lazy, because we cannot be bothered to use the tools given to us to
create a dialogue. Greedy, because we want to own the roads, or have them to
ourselves. We cannot expect others to do what we ourselves do not. By mastering our
own actions and reactions, we can show others how much better life can be in our Community of the Road. Lead by example. If people are let in when
the traffic is heavy, they may start to do the same, creating a shared vision,
one that would become stronger and more prolific. If more people were to use
dialogue and not aggression to travel within the community, slowly our mental models
would change, causing a chain reaction, albeit slow, around us. We could
make better decisions, effecting our immediate environment, creating a balanced
alignment within the community. If this is something we want, by setting
examples, it can be made to happen. As a result, our community would become a
pleasant and much safer place. By becoming a group, working as a team, we can
strive for that same goal. Watching teams play in individualistic ways is not
as satisfying as watching a team play. The soccer match between England and Argentina is a good example of
that. England had some world class players performing really well as
individuals, but Argentina, playing as a team, performed better and won (although
on penalty goals). Had England
used their individual skills as a team they may have won. By
opening a dialogue of where we are going, and how we want to get there, we
create awareness about us, allowing us to focus on reaching our goals in an
efficient and conscientious way.
By using the dialogue available to vehicles, we can eliminate
assumptions and disturbance; we can become aware of the necessities of our
fellow community members, use energy in a more efficient manner and reach our
goals in a safer and friendlier manner.
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| The writer at the time of writing! |
