The Traffic Lights as Metaphor

Two nights in a row we in Woodbury (and many other places, of course) were buffeted by strong rapid moving thunderstorms.  Among other problems, the Minneapolis paper reports 250,000 are without power this morning. 

I'm an early morning type, and both yesterday and today I've approached always busy intersections where the traffic lights were not operating at all due to power failure somewhere or other. 

What struck me both yesterday and today was the sense of teamwork that takes over within the "community" of strangers who are driving their cars. 

There were no police in evidence; no temporary stop signs installed; no flashing red lights; no volunteer traffic cop.... 

But there was order, and patience.

It was assumed that the common courtesy rules of the road applied:  we all know these rules - I don't need to recite them.

And the traffic flowed, a bit slower than usual, of course, but without angry honking of horns or other displays of irritation people display on occasion.

We were civilized.

We live in a society where conflict and disaster seem always to be emphasized: "if it bleeds, it leads" is the mantra.

But neighbor to neighbor, and stranger to stranger, the norm for our society is what I experienced at those traffic lights this morning, and yesterday as well. 

Nobody had to ask us to be decent people; nobody made a determination whether this person or that deserves an equal opportunity to cross the intersection. 

We just did as we were taught in kindergarten.  We were a team of strangers, playing together nicely.

And on that business of teamwork, it seems appropriate to share an article I read in a recent University of North Dakota Alumni Bulletin, the first chapter of a new book by NBA Superstar Coach Phil Jackson. 

It's about teams and teamwork, and I think it's a good read.  It's included as an photo in this post.