Ever wonder what Jesus would do if he were in the driver seat when that SUV cut you off? Now we may have a little insight.
Two weeks ago, the Vatican issued the Drivers’ Ten Commandments, which sadly did not originate with the majesty of the previous 10.
The interesting thing about this coming out of the thousand car Vatican City is that it has not seen an accident in about a year and a half. It is good that the church recognizes some of problems of its people, but do we need a decree to tell us not to drive like idiots?
“You shall not kill,” tops the list off, making its way up from sixth on the original ten. In a move to modernize, “thou” is now “you.” I’m sure some like this, but I wonder if we lose the anger and scariness of a faceless wrath which previously commanded a slew of “thou shalt nots.”
The rest of the list deals with things like not driving under the influence, helping the victims of accidents and their families, and convincing kids and the “not so young” to not drive.
The list also warns against using your car as “an occasion of sin.” So beware, kids on Lovers’ Lane, Jesus is watching when you fog up those windows, and he does not like what he sees.
The eighth commandment was actually a really nice touch. It calls for us to bring together guilty motorists and the victims to heal.While it seems like this reunion would either happen in court or be accompanied by another brawl, hopefully they have it right.
The ninth and tenth are a tag team that could have really been the only two – “On the road, protect the more vulnerable party. Feel responsible towards others.”
These two capture a big part of how poorly we all drive. I’m guilty, as are most of us, of driving like a jerk, especially after someone else does. So maybe if we kept these few things in mind, the roads might be slightly less frustrating.
We should not need some outside institution to tell us not to drive like idiots, but we drive so poorly that it has come to this. Maybe now we can look to other areas to improve, before the Ten Commandments of Drunken Screaming gets sent our way.
———-Contact Geoff Whiting at [email protected]