They Have Passed This Way Before Us

I just realized the tremendous amount of directions we run into each day:
-Pull to open
-Wilkes-Barre next exit
-Continued on page 10
-Do not attempt at home

We trust the people who have gone before us, those who make road signs, who put the newspapers together, or let us know that what they do on tv is dangerous.

Well, most of us do. Some people don't listen, those whose last words are, "Hey, watch this!" Or who say, "They can't tell me not to do this." But, generally, we tend to believe those who put up the signs, post the directions, based on their having been that way before.

My take on Original Sin is not what the churches preach (making me a closet heretic). I think it's our reluctance to learn from those who have gone before us. The strides we could have made as the human race if we didn't have to "invent the wheel" with every generation. But we don't listen to the people who have gone before us and give us directions; we have to start from zero and learn that "don't attempt this at home" means we should not attempt this at home. "Not for children under ten" means it's really for children above eleven.

They have passed this way before us. We should learn from their experience. "Bridge Out" is not something we should ignore.