“Think Global. Act Local.”

Recently, I was driving through a small little town and pulled up to a stoplight. The car next to me pulled up rather quickly and had to stop fast, slamming on the brakes. It wouldn’t have been a big deal, except there were people in the crosswalk who understandably seemed to feel a mixture of surprise, anger and concern. And that was all it took. They marched right over to the car’s passenger window and let the driver have it. There was yelling. There was cursing. There were middle fingers flying in every direction and from both parties. And as I watched the scene unfold before me, it made me sad.

I understand being irritated and concerned for your own safety. Of course I do. But I also understand stopping short and slamming on the brakes. From time to time, it happens to all of us. As I drove away, I was thinking how concerned we all are about the world at large. About what’s happening, “out there” in the big, bad, scary world. But the truth is, we are the world. What’s happening in our own neighborhoods IS what’s happening in the world. And if we ever want things to be different globally, we’ve got to start by changing them locally.

And maybe. Just maybe. It starts with one traffic incident at a time.