By Donna Buttarazzi
Reprinted from the York County Coast Star
July 9th, 2009 edition
 
What happened to Pride?
 
I've been thinking a lot lately about "pride". The type of pride defined as "pleasure or satisfaction taken in an achievement". It seems that we as a society don't take pride in doing simple everyday tasks to the best of our abilities anymore. There are many people who don't take pride in their appearance or health like they should, evidenced by the growing number of expanded waistlines and slouchy clothes. I'll be the first to admit that having a spotless house is not high on my priority list, and yet I wish it were. Would it be that difficult to achieve this if I put a little more effort into it? Probably not. Housework, cooking, and even things like childrearing have lost a lot of our focus, as our lives have become more hectic. We have this "take me as I am" attitude, and yet we want to impress people with material things, rather than a job well done.
The everyday task that really stands out to me these days though, is the lack of pride in driving. Have you noticed? I think most people would claim to be a "safe" driver, and would sight no accidents or citations to back them up. But are they a "good" driver? I doubt it.  I haven't seen many on the road these days.
My grandfather was a good driver. He was a polite, meticulous driver for nearly all of his 92 years. He was assertive, confident and conscientious, and he obeyed the rules of the road. He was well into his 70's when he was pulled over on the interstate in New York, and issued a speeding ticket - his first and last. Of course his grandchildren, myself included, needled him about this when we got wind of it. He chuckled and said "I doubt you'll be 74 years old when you get your first speeding ticket!"Of course he was right!
Even the most pious souls these days don't really seem to care about following the rules of the road. We justify every mile that we go over the speed limit with  "I'm running late," for every stop sign we roll through we say "there was nothing coming," and every cell phone call we take while we're driving we explain with "I had to answer it, I thought it might be important." People are extremely proud of that shiny, beautiful new vehicle sitting in their driveway, but they take no pride in the way they drive it when they get behind the wheel.
We hear every day in the news of traffic fatalities involving driver distraction, speed and other forms of unsafe driving. Every day wonderful, normal, and loving people die or are injured on the road because they are careless drivers.
My grandfather took pride in being a "good" driver. He kept his vehicles clean and polished inside and out, and he kept his driving skills "clean and polished" too. Something to think about the next time you get behind the wheel. How about "cleaning up and polishing" your driving skills?