A blind man with a lantern
A blind man was walking home holding a lantern in front of him.
A healthy man saw him and asked:
“I hope, you don’t mind if I ask you a simple question”
“Please go ahead” the blind man replied.
“I understand that you are blind: so, why do you keep a lantern in front of you if you can’t anyway see what the lantern enlighten?”
“Well, you are right, I am blind and I can’t see anything as my eyes always stare into the darkness whether there is light or not. The lantern is therefore not for me, but for those people who enjoy their healthy eyes, so they can see me and do not bump into me”.
This story comes back to my mind very often since the use of the LED headlights has been allowed on cars, especially on SUV.
Living in Devon I drive in hilly, winding roads and car lights in winter go on just after 4pm. At every hill and bending you need to pray that you don’t cross a SUV with LED headlights on or you will risk to get blinded in that moment.
If drivers of those SUVs keep the lights on with the same intention of the blind man of the zen story (to enable the others to be aware of their presence), then the effect is quite the opposite.
The drivers with the LED headlights are of course not faulty for using their lights as they are a standard equipment on new cars.
A recent survey by RAC has revealed that actually “89% of drivers think at least some headlights are too bright”. They get dazzled and glared, so they have to slow down and deal with a beam of light that might cause different reactions to the human eyes than the yellowish old lights. (Read the article on SkyNews).
Out of such unpleasant side-effects, the LED headlights speak a lot of the change of times.
They reveal the untold value that is rising in these days, the unspoken real priority of the present: “It’s me, not you! ,,, What do you say? Mutual respect? Reciprocal understanding? Take care of the others? … I care for my owner! Caring for you? Not my job”…
The old blind man with the lantern would be at risk nowadays and someone should have the courage to tell him that his yellowish, weak lantern is useless… It would be good to advice him to find a different device to make himself visible…
What about providing the old blind man with a harsh, croaky horn so that at least he can be heard?