ROAD RAGE

By JOSEPH HARRIS

We have all heard stories about road rage and air rage. One of the most insane stories I ever heard was about a 31 year-old driver who punched a 73 year-old man in the face. The younger driver zoomed past the elderly man, crossing double yellow lines, only to be stopped ahead at a red light behind a line of cars. The seventy-three year-old driver shook his head and made a gesture (though not obscene), as if to say, "What a dumb thing to do" and it certainly was.

This look and gesture so enraged the younger driver, he got out of his car, walked back,  and punched the elderly gentleman through his open window. Sounds like a "real man" to me, beating up on senior citizens. I wonder what the news report would have been if the assailant had emerged from his car with a gun?

Those in the news media usually excuse this kind of behavior, attributing the problem to some abstract thing called road rage, claiming the perpetrator is actually a victim, unable to cope with pressure and stress in life. 

Let me label and identify road ragers. They are self-centered, spoiled hotheads with no self control, who think they are the only ones on the road with a destination. Ditto for air ragers who lose their temper on airplanes. Their problem is an out of control temper that can be controlled. Each person is an accountable being, responsible for his or her own actions, with few exceptions. If we all acted out our anger when we got mad at other drivers, there would be mass murder on the highways daily.

Funny, but I never heard the old timers speak of this disorder. They never mentioned "Plow Rage," "Barn Raising Rage," or "Outhouse Rage." But then they were from an age where individuals were taught self control and personal responsibility. Out of control people in the old days were called criminals and went to jail.

You know, this has possibilities. The next time I get mad at my wife at meal time, VOILA! "Dining Rage." "Sorry Honey, I just couldn’t help what I said about your Elly May Clampett biscuits. You know how D R is."

We could also have Wal-Mart rage and (my favorite) computer rage. The sky is the limit for irresponsible individuals who want to scapegoat someone or something for their own choices. We did not have a choice when we inherited depravity from Adam, but we do have a choice in our conduct and speech.

Joseph Harris is the Vice President of Southeastern Baptist College in Laurel, MS. (This article may be reprinted in whole, as long as the name Joseph Harris and

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