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Individual choice and stop signs

August 25, 2020 by Guest Post

By Bruce Weide, Hamilton

While getting blood drawn I spoke with a Hamilton nurse about the efficacy of wearing a face-mask during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The nurse wore a face-mask but felt that masks provide little protection and, even more importantly, mask-wearing should be an individual’s choice.

Point taken. So, I’ve decided to apply this ethic to stopping at stop signs. Over the years I’ve inadvertently driven past stop signs without stopping and suffered no ill effect. Therefore, I see stops signs providing little protection. 

But even more importantly, stopping at a stop sign should be an individual’s choice. Nowhere in the Constitution will you find a mandate requiring us to stop at stops signs.

From now on, unless moved by personal choice, I will no longer stop at stop signs. You’ll know who I am; I’ll be the guy who T-bones you.

 

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Filed Under: Opinion

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Pat Schmud says

    August 26, 2020 at 8:53 PM

    I appreciate that choice is also about understanding and knowledge cause and effect. You never know maybe people instead of being so focused on themselves will actually think about another

  2. Roger Mitchell says

    August 25, 2020 at 8:29 PM

    I’m sure that, over the years, you’ve done other things which other people thought you shouldn’t have. You may have done these things without suffering any ill effects at all, even though those others were sure you would. You may have done these things and suffered for them, perhaps even badly.

    As we all have. This is how wisdom is accumulated.

    You have made a promise to never stop at a stop sign again–even if it means that you cause an accident which might hurt or kill someone else. OK, we’ll see how good your word is. Of course, there is always the out: unless moved by personal choice. Yeah, you can always claim that you made a personal choice to stop.

    How convenient! And how silly.

    • David Welch says

      August 26, 2020 at 4:48 PM

      Once again… “Subtlety is wasted on the dim-witted” – WMW

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