Human Nature

It's amazing how trained we become as humans.

I've always marveled at the laws of human nature that govern our behavior. We feel a need to conform. No where is this more apparent than on the drive in to work. Multi-ton vehicles race across freeways and highways, and the only thing separating them from becoming a demolition derby is a few painted lines on asphalt. The yellow lines mean one thing. White another. And broken lines yet something more. These invisible restraints keep order (and rightfully so). Can you imagine if everyone suddenly disregarded the painted lines? (If you've driven in Mexico, you don't need to imagine.)

I wondered when did we learn this behavior and it occurred to me that it starts at a very early age. Not only do we learn rules of behavior and manners, we learn to conform to what the crowd does. School is a major area of conformity and rules. I watch my daughter, fresh from her first days of kindergarten, as she now raises her hand to interrupt a conversation. Something unimaginable a few weeks earlier.

There is a certain comfort in knowing that there is a sense of order and that people can be counted on to behave in a certain way. How many times have you been annoyed by "rude" people? The rudeness is generally someone not behaving like the crowd. The comfort I take in this human behavior is knowing that (for the most part) people will stay in their own lanes and that people will (predominately) be courteous.

And yet, people will be people. As with everything in life, you take the good with the bad.