Last night I was driving from Harrisburg to Lewisburg,distance of about eighty miles. It was late. Several times I got stuck behind a slow-moving truck on a narrow road with a solid white line on my left, and I became increasingly impatient. At one point along an open road, I came to a crossing with a traffic light. I was alone on the road by now, but as I drove near the light, it turned red and I made a stop. I looked left, right and behind me. Nothing. Not a car, no suggestion of car lamps, but there I sat, waiting for the light to change, the only human being for at least a mile in any direction. I started wondering why I refused to run the light I was not afraid of being caught, because there was clearly no policeman around, and there certainly would have been no danger in going through it. Much later that night, the question of why I'd stopped for that light came back to me. I think I stopped because it's part of a contract we all have with each other. It's not only the law, but it is an agreement we have, and we trust each other to honor it: we don't go through red lights. Trust is our first inclination .Doubting others does not seem to be natural to us. The whole construction of our society depends on mutual trust, not distrust. We do what we say we'll do; we show up when we say we'll show up; and we pay when we say we'll pay. We trust each other in these matters, and we're angry or disappointed with the person or organization that breaks the trust we have in them. I was so proud of myself for stopping for the red light that night. Why was the author proud of himself?
He kept his promise. He held back his anger. He followed his inclination. He made a right decision.