The Code of the Road

For a self declared Atheist, Uncle Ken has demonstrated an impressive knowledge of religious principles.  I agree that these principles are not always followed, and that some of them are just not practical in many situations, but that's not my point.  I was thinking more along the lines of common decency or a Code of the West sort of thing or, as I prefer to call it, the Code of the Road.

When I was a union steward at the paper mill, I was called upon to represent a guy who was not exactly a friend of mine, and the feeling was mutual.  The manager, possibly in an attempt to drive a wedge between us said, "Al, you don't like Beagles very much, do you."  Before I could raise an objection to this tactic, Al responded, "Well, we are not the best of friends but, if he was stuck in a ditch, and I was passing by in my 4WD truck, I would pull him out."  That's the Code of the Road, at least in rural areas.  It's less commonly practiced in urban areas, for a couple of reasons, but if you saw somebody in trouble in Chicago, the decent thing to do still would be to render some kind of assistance. If you didn't feel safe getting out of your car in that neighborhood, the least you could do would be to call 911 and report it.

Another thing is, if somebody stops to help you, and gets a flat tire in the process, you don't drive away and leave him there.  A lot of Vietnamese people literally stuck their necks out to help the American cause.  Maybe some of them did it for a selfish reason but, nevertheless, those people should not have been abandoned to certain death or left to float around on the ocean in their leaky boats.  I read somewhere at the time that plans had been made to evacuate as many of them as possible but, for one reason or another, the plans were poorly implemented.  I thought at the time that nobody would want to be our ally ever again, but I was wrong about that.  Maybe Uncle Ken is correct when he says that everybody is in it for their own short term selfish interests, and fuck the other guy.  It may be true, it may be realistic, but it still ain't right.