During the Great Avenue Deconstruction of 2026, I have a streetside seat to observe the impact on drivers heading east and west on Pleasant Street.
It’s a great laboratory for observing human nature.
With north-south traffic completely shut down for several blocks on Oak Park Avenue, you might think the rules of the road would change. For some it has, but not for others. The traffic lights at Oak Park and Pleasant are basically irrelevant, except for passing pedestrians and the occasional work truck scooting across the intersection. We would probably be better off changing the light to blinking red.
Some drivers completely disregard the red light as they continue east or west. Others dutifully stop and wait for the light to turn green. Though Pleasant is narrower than most east-west streets, it is heavily trafficked even in normal times, especially during rush hours as drivers seek shortcuts through this part of town. Increasing traffic flow would be a boon. But in the current situation, cars logjam on both sides.
Which raises interesting questions. Are you a strict rule-follower by nature, or do you make exceptions in unusual situations like this? Some would say it’s common sense to disregard this red light even though, technically, it breaks the law. No police officer, however, is likely to enforce it. They have more pressing priorities. So fear of getting “caught” is not a motivating factor to comply.
Should all laws be followed or only the ones that “make sense”? When does compliance become optional? You can make a strong case that obeying the red light under these conditions only makes matters worse. After all, no one can make a right or left turn onto Oak Park Avenue, so there’s not much chance of an accident. There seems little harm in proceeding through the intersection — after coming to a halt to check for pedestrians — as one would with a stop sign.
But some drivers so brazen in their disregard, they breeze right through without even slowing down. On the rule-following spectrum, they lean toward the “scofflaw” extreme, taking full advantage of the opportunity. On the other end of the spectrum, it may never have occurred to some drivers that they don’t really need to be ruled by this light. A law’s a law so they, if sometimes blindly, abide.
Those who follow the murkier middle path, might be tempted to make a case for flaunting the law. Some might argue for doing so in theory, but in practice come down on the side of “better safe than sorry,” especially with pedestrians and cyclists in the vicinity. However, if the first car in line is a strict law-abider, the only recourse for the rest of the lineup is to lay on the horn impatiently, hoping to speed things up.
It takes all kinds to get through an intersection, and rule-following comprises a wide span of personality types.
Society works much more smoothly when citizens follow rules, norms and laws. It’s more fair, and better for the common good. Some cultures are more rigid about this than others, social scientists contend. The difference, say, between Germany and Italy. But they also point out a wide divergence within our own culture. The “Don’t Tread on Me” faction, for instance, rankles at imposed rules, regarding them as an infringement of their constitutional right to “liberty,” and also claim the right to define “freedom” in their own libertarian, self-centered way.
They even managed to elect one of their own as president of the United States … twice. Rule-followers, on the other hand, profess a healthy respect for the “rule of law,” founded on a single, rock-solid tenet: No one is above it.
But this president has said, through his actions and words, that playing by the rules is for suckers and losers. He sees himself on the winning side of the win-lose ledger and would look you in the eye, red-faced, orange hair violating your airspace, spittle from his lips moistening your countenance, and tell you that “the winner takes it all,” as the old ABBA song puts it. Yet that song also turns the tables, confronting the “winner” and redefining him as the real loser. Something to think about as we approach November’s midterm elections.
All of us grew up learning the hard way that it’s no fun playing a game with someone who doesn’t follow the rules. But in politics the rules tend to be made by those who want to stay on the winning side. Some of those rules are unjust, unfair, and need to be changed (even sometimes disobeyed). And if the rules for changing unjust rules are themselves unfair and unjust, that’s a prescription for a restless, unhappy citizenry.
Waiting for the light to turn green affords plenty of time to ponder all this as we idle at the intersection of We the Winners and Losers, in search of a more perfect union.
Or at least a flashing red traffic light at the corner of Oak Park and Pleasant.