Does Miami.
Oh, sure, you reply. It’s power, or lust for power. That’s unique to Washington.
Yes and no. That might fit the bill for the elected officials who flit in and out of this area, but what about the common man or woman? What is it that we do?
As a frequent traveler on the region’s freeways, I’ve noticed an all-pervasive attitude, but I’m still looking for a sin category into which it fits.
That attitude is: My time is more important than your time.
Think about it. How many times have you cut someone off because you simply had to be somewhere? Or someone has cut you off in the merge lane because their desire to get to the exit was more important than you getting on the freeway?
I was driving north on Interstate 81 last weekend when I was stopped by the distant sight of flashing police lights and the inevitable line of cars.
Most of us had merged into one line and were creeping along at 5 mph. Then I saw a red sports car behind me start to pull into the empty-but-blocked lane in the obvious hope of zooming to the front, then cutting in.
I swung my car part way into the free lane. I had been putt-putting along for a while and I was not going to let this yahoo jump in front of me. Sure enough, he pulled up right behind my much bigger Subaru, then hesitated; his choice being to end up in a ditch or get in line behind me. He chose the latter.
But isn’t that life here in the capital of the world? Anyone who’s tried to get on the I-395 southbound ramp off South Capitol Street during rush hour can tell you about the creeps who pull ahead on the northbound lane, then at the last minute cut in at the front. Ditto for the line on I-295 south to get onto the Wilson Bridge. Then there are the people who cut in line in the Third Street tunnel.
Like children who try to cut their way to the front of the line at school, these drivers cannot wait their turn. Their lives are more important; their time is more precious than that of the rest of us.
I get just as irritated at the sops who let these folks merge at the head of the line. Why pity people who feel they must barge in? Unless a driver has an out-of-state license plate and is obviously lost in our sign-challenged city, I do not let cheaters cut in front of me. Why give in to the zeitgeist?
Then there are the jaywalkers who feel everyone must brake to accommodate their schedules even when they’re walking against the no-walk light. The best place in the city to watch these folks is at the intersection of North Capitol Street and New York Avenue. Not only do the locals saunter across when the red signal is flashing, they glare at you, daring you to run them over.
One could say this attitude is countrywide; that casual impatience that causes us to honk our horns and vent. Mind you, I am the chief of sinners on this one.
It’s doubly pervasive here in Washington, however, the city of motorcades for zillions of dignitaries, officials and politicians whose time is so important that dozens of streets are closed off so they can get to where they want to go when they want to go.
Anyway, what do you call this sense of self-importance? One of the seven deadly sins, wrath, comes close to describing the impatience, selfishness, self-interest, rudeness and spite that flood our highways and byways. The real sin is theft, a theft of time. I understand the reasons for it, the packed interstates, the ridiculous HOV restrictions, the impossible schedules.
But that’s what it is and thieves is what we are.
•Julia Duin can be reached at jduin@washingtontimes.com. Her column appears on Thursdays and Sundays.
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