My Blinker

There's a logical fallacy here somewhere, but I'm not sure what it's called. We all make this mistake, getting upset at the actions of one, but feeling justified when we do the same thing because we know our reason.

Example
When I drive, I go nuts when people don't use their blinkers. My wife is always telling me to "calm the road-rage" and to "pipe down, they can't hear you anyway." Changing lanes, coming to a corner, whatever the reason, you have a blinker so please use it! Or do they?

That's where I come in. Lately, my left blinker has stopped working. Suddenly, I'm the one changing lanes and turning corners without signaling but feel justified because my blinker doesn't work. How many of those people had a reason that just didn't know about, but were equally as justified for their actions?

It happens all the time, day in, and day out. You're in the store approaching a register when someone jumps in front of you, cutting you off, so that they get through first. Makes you mad, no? Or you're taking a nap when the phone rings, and you go through all the effort to answer the phone only to find out it's a wrong number. Furious! But how often are we the ones cutting people off because we're in a hurry. Who knows what trouble we've caused someone when we call a wrong number?

That's where a little patience and consideration come in. We don't know the story behind someone's actions, but we do know our own. They don't know our story, but they know their own. My blinker has reminded me that this kind of thing happens. I should be slower to anger and judgement and quicker to give people the benefit of the doubt, a little slack. We could all benefit from the lesson of My Blinker.