Killing in the Name

A man gets off work around 5pm. He walks outside and is picked up by his wife and daughter. Everyone scoots over one seat and they set off towards home. On their way home they chit chat about their respective day, what happened at work, what happened at home, what’s for dinner… all very mundane, vanilla stuff. The driver peeks into the rearview just in time to see a hulking SUV rocketing toward them. The driver (while simultaneously shouting expletives and throwing in a few “our fathers”) swerves off the road to avoid being run over and the speeding SUV misses the family by the width of no more than 2 or 3 layers of paint. Patrol cars whiz by in hot pursuit, and just a few miles further down the road the SUV is flipped over in the median and its driver is in handcuffs.

That man getting off work was me, and the situation I described actually happened on I-85 in South Carolina about 9 years ago. It turned out the speeding SUV’s occupant had just robbed a bank and stolen the car. It could have easily been one of those pivotal moments that changes your life forever. Had we been hit, I have no doubt at least some of us would have died that day. Luckily for us, it wasn’t our time to go.

Which brings me (in a round-about way) to my topic. Virginia now issues speeding tickets that can wind up costing thousands of dollars. Are these steep fines meant to protect the citizenry or are they merely a government revenue machine? I’ve only visited the state of Virginia, but I must admit the cold, black signs every 100 feet or so, constantly reminding me that big brother is watching, make me uncomfortable. In fact there are so many black signs warning me of what not to do I find myself wondering how the citizens of VA don’t feel like they are under the thumb of malevolent oppressor. Have most of the people just gotten so used to this type government that they don’t even notice or care about its encroachment or do they actually invite this into their lives thinking they will be protected?

Threatening thousands of dollars in fines, constant radar equipped helicopter flyovers, the ever-present and overly abundant black warning signs… every time we travel through Virginia (which has some beautiful countryside BTW) I jokingly tell my wife, “We have crossed into the territory held by the dark side of the force.” Star Wars cameo jokes aside, there’s a sad truth hidden in the gag. To this outsider it appears as though any “safety” they might have gained through tighter restrictions and stronger enforcement completely evaporates under an overbearing government. That, or I’ve been listening to too much Rage Against the Machine again.

That incident I described with the bank robber on the interstate could have happened anywhere, even Virginia. And I’m not convinced VA’s roads are any safer. I know that statistically the rate of death per capita in VA ranks better than average, but even if it is safer, I’m compelled to ponder the age-old debate of safety vs. freedom. I like feeling safe, but I don’t like feeling like a caged animal for safety’s sake. I’d rather take my chances with freedom. And by the way, I’ll be traveling through Virginia this week… All hail the dark lord of foreboding road signs, flying reconnaissance, and anti-radar detector legislation.