It was those overly anxious, ever-watchful genes that survived to be passed on to the likes of you and me.
Our anxious genes do not tell the whole story.
Itβs why we tend to think that crime is constantly getting worse when the opposite is true. Itβs why we overstate the likelihood of rare events, such as being taken by a shark. Itβs why βsharemarket expertsβ have predicted 12 of the last two recessions.
We shrug off good news, and feast on the bad. We end up waking every morning seeking someone to be wary of, someone to blame.
For example, government departments. Bloody bureaucrats. We pay all those taxes, and what do they do for us?
So here, in my determination to accentuate the positive, is another tiny story. As I returned to Sydney this past Monday afternoon, the traffic was predictably terrible. It was the end of the long weekend. At various pinch points, the cars came to a sudden standstill, often just over the hill or just around a bend from where people were doing 80-90km/h.
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It was an accident waiting to happen. Well, more than an accident: a tragedy waiting to happen.
But someone in the RTA, or whatever itβs called this week, had thought this through. A kilometre or so before each pinch point, theyβd stationed a vehicle with a flashing light, warning what was ahead. Another vehicle with flashing lights reiterated the message closer to the scene.
Maybe theyβve always done this, and Iβve never noticed. Maybe they do it in other countries, making my story even more unremarkable. In any case, it had me thinking, βGood jobβ. A couple of thousand dollars in wages and they may have saved some lives.
Another positive: later in the trip, there were various spots where the cars had to merge and, during that four-hour drive, I didnβt see one driver trying to muscle in. Everyone took their turn.
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This is the side of Sydney that isnβt so often reported, and maybe for a good reason. What a waste of a column, you may be thinking right now. βAll you are doing, Richard, is describing the absence of anything eventful.β
But how are we meant to have an accurate view of our city if we donβt sometimes pay attention to the positives?
Like the pedestrians who give a thank-you wave after you stop at the zebra crossing. (Of course, you were merely obeying the law, and you donβt deserve a thank-you wave, but still they offer one.)
Or the stranger who returns the wallet dropped in the street, with not a dollar missing, refusing all thanks.
Or the neighbour who brings in your bins when you are away.
I could easily list some bad news, just to give you a balanced meal. Thereβs plenty of it around. Lions do sometimes hide in the shadows. That distant puff of rising dust sometimes really is a war party about to strike.
But our anxious genes do not tell the whole story. Especially if you are lucky enough to live in a place like this. Mostly sunny, mostly civil and mostly kindly.
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