Drunken Christianity

I like to ride a bike, so I was doubly struck last month when I read that the newly appointed and first female Episcopal Bishop of Maryland hit and killed a cyclist, and, without stopping, left scene of the accident. According to the news stories, Bishop Suferagan Heather Cook hit the cyclist on a wide residential street while he was riding in the designated bike lane. The biker was struck by the front of the car, and he then caved in the windshield of the car on his way to the pavement. Bishop Cook kept on driving. She was followed by another motorist, who witnessed the accident, back to her gated apartment complex where, not being able to enter he lost sight of her. After about 20 minutes she returned to the scene of the accident and accepted responsibility for the hit and run. This same woman was arrested in 2010 for drunken driving and possession of marijuana. Perhaps her level of self awareness has improved since that first incident, because, in the hit and run accident she only blew a .22, while back in 2010 she hit a whopping .27 blood alcohol content. In both cases, she was dead drunk, while in the latest incident her unfortunate victim is just dead. I'm sure she's very sorry this happened. Particularly, now that she has been charged with vehicular manslaughter. As I said, I'm doubly struck by her apparent ability to compartmentalize her Christianity and her regard for her fellow human beings.

I don't think my blood has ever enjoyed the intense high that a .27 BAC can provide, but I know I've been on the road having had too much to drink. I've often joked that M.AD.D. has taken all of the fun out of drunk driving, but in truth, there is not much fun in the death or injury of someone because of negligent behavior. Of course, you don't have to be drunk to be cavalier about the safety and welfare of the people around you.

I often see (what's the right word?) obnoxious, rude, uncaring, irresponsible, aggressive, psychotic, impatient, dangerous, thoughtless,unkind, (wait; I've got it.) sadly human behavior when I'm out on my bike. Not that I don't see these traits elsewhere, but I'm more aware of them when I'm at my most vulnerable, that is, on the side of the road, on wheels that have less than one square inch of contact with the pavement, and I'm being approached either from behind or from ahead by a 3000 pound + vehicle perhaps driven by a person exhibiting one or more of the above traits.

I've often commented that religion is of practical use to only about half the population. That is, I suspect that around 25% of people have a good enough moral compass without the need  of religious guidance, 25% of the population is irretrievably immoral, and the other 50% can accept proper moral training, if the trainers themselves have proper moral grounding, which, when it comes to religion, is not guaranteed.   I'm afraid that this also is analogous to the drivers I encounter on my rides. So here is a rule for the trainable 50% of drivers, so that I can live when you approach me on my bike.

Act as if an impatient or thoughtless move on your part could result in death or injury on my part.

I'll come back to this topic later with some more specific suggestions that can help us co-exist.

Note: When writing this blog, for some reason I was unable to edit a few places properly. The blog site would not let me use my space bar to enter commas or additional words in a few paces where they were needed. As in the above sentence where I left off the s on spaces. Strange!