News Feeds, Hypocrisy & Shame

Week 2

This morning in my news feed on Facebook I noticed something that really made me stop and think. Over the course of the posts since midnight last night, I counted 9 friends who'd posted different things regarding "Don't Drink and Drive". I saw 7 friends who'd posted things related to "Don't Text and Drive". There were 28 posts about my friends drinking on Saturday night accompanied by over 50 new pictures of people drinking, partying, and having a good time. In addition to over a dozen photos of alcoholic drinks posted to show the libations that some were enjoying.

Of the 9 friends who said "Don't Drink and Drive" I have been in the car with 5 of them when they did just that. For the record, 6 out of those same 9 people posted photos related to drinking last night and I know for a fact that at least 2 have already gotten DUI’s.

As for the 7 "Anti-Text Drivers", I have been in the car with 3 of them when they were texting and driving. I have even held the steering wheel for a couple of them so they could reply to something they insisted was "Important" or "Life or Death".

As I read these posts, I bowed my head. Tears of shame filled my eyes. I have gotten behind the wheel impaired by alcohol. I have texted while driving. The only difference between me and these friends is I try not to post things to social networks that I believe to be hypocritical. I wonder if some of them are trying to assuage their guilt at their own actions.

My actions are inexcusable because of the danger and harm I could have created by the poor decisions I chose to make. Just because I have never been caught or hurt anyone else, it doesn’t forgive the potential for disaster in what could have happened. While I am pointing out the hypocrisy of others, please understand, I am also pointing a finger of blame toward myself for my own actions. I am calling myself out on using poor or impaired judgment in the past (something I have been working to improve for a while now). I am admitting that I have devalued the lives of others, as well as my own life.

The next time you text me and I don’t reply quickly, it’s not because I am ignoring you. I just might be driving. I promise I will get back to you when my wheels are no longer in motion. It could be a matter of “Life or Death”.