Akin to road rage is a parallel realm...

Akin to road rage is a parallel realm, a zone of civil responsibility

By Ken LaRive

Sidelines show people still question why Camellia Boulevard is 35 mph. Some say they feel “road rage” when driving on it. Well, I have a parallel feeling akin to that, and what separates us is just a simple point of view.

Here we are ...a beautiful sun-shiny morning. The sky is blue and crisp, crystal-clear with a hint of chill. Know that kind of day?

Even on one of the most safely designed roads, paid for by our tax dollars, the blood and sweat of Louisiana and our father’s dreams, we find ourselves driving on Camellia with several thoughtless people. In spite of Camellia’s positive intent, officers risk their lives every day to enforce the law.

Our laws didn’t just spontaneously spring up; they were hard won. They were forged by righteous crusades, stimulated by the memories of horrific and tragic traffic accidents. These laws are designed for our safety and security, but something much more: the strength of hope, and peace of mind.

What comfort is there, and what little thanks some give? Where else are there laws in place to bring us from the pit of chaos to the mountain of reason? America is so special, so amazingly beautiful, and yet those lawbreakers who endanger the rest are tolerated to the point of absurdity.

Ever think about the complicated processes, and the thousands of years of formulation to get us to this place in 2008? I’m not talking just about a soldier’s blood for liberty; but loving ideals that took us out of the proverbial darkness of our minds.

Law defines us, and the more serious one takes law, the greater love and respect he has for the good in men and our very civilization as well.

Laughing children with pets, grandparents... tricycles, training wheels, and little orange flags on red bikes with baskets in front and infant seats in back, defines Camellia Boulevard, and all of that is just five feet from the curb!

I watch the speeders, tailgaters, telephone users, and drunks ...all oblivious to it... insensitive to compassion or empathy. Inconsiderately, they preen and prep, weave and speed to the next red light.

Yes, the stage parallel to rage, where there is no need for adrenalin and testosterone, lays a fragile realm, a zone called civil responsibility. For those few, that zone is seemingly not understood or appreciated. We might laugh, or even feel sorry for them, if they weren’t so dangerous.