Right Or Dead?

My mother has many alternate forms of this phrase. Would you rather be right or dead? Would you rather be right or happy? Ultimately they mean the same thing, what difference does being 'right' mean if it comes at certain costs?

Yesterday in Minnesota we had a 'white out'. The snow amounted to little under a foot, however, the 21 mph winds and the lack of visibility made it difficult to see anything. Now I don't mean to sound harsh, but it seems when the snow falls common sense goes out the window.

I remember when we were living at our old house in Colorado and there was a HUGE blizzard. Every tv personality begged people to stay indoors, that police officers were having trouble responding to all the accidents and trapped individuals as it was. We look out our window and there is a woman stuck. She is outside her car, and we can see inside that there is a very young baby in the front seat. The woman is barely dressed for winter, let alone a blizzard, and her child was too young to be able to be out in cold weather for long periods. Fortunately some people came and helped her out, however, how dumb do you have to be to do something like that? What happened to a little common sense?

Last night a man in Minnesota died when hit by a snow plow. And while it is sad for his family and friends, I can't really feel sorry for him. Wearing a white coat when it's completely dark outside except the white snow is not a smart choice. In addition, crossing because it's your right away in front of a snow plow that has the snow flying up in front of it just is not intelligent.

Was it that important for the man to go across the street at that point in time? Could he not have waited another five seconds to cross afterwards? Did being 'right' mean so much that he had to die? Now I realize this sounds heartless and cold, however, it's survival of the fittest. If you aren't intelligent enough to stay on the sidewalk for two more minutes then you kind of get what's coming to you.

There are so many people in this world that die of causes that they have no control over. I think that for whatever reasons people need to accept that every decision they make has a long term consequence. Drinking absurd amounts of alcohol all the time slowly rots your liver and other internal organs. Driving incredibly fast and aggressive is unnecessary and can injure not only you, but others. Just because it's your 'right' doesn't make it less selfish. I have started to believe that individuals who do things to themselves without regard for their own lives or the lives of others should be treated last. That the drunk who drank away the health of his liver should be the last one on the list of organ transplants. If they care that little about their own well-being, why should we? Why is it our responsibility to care for you, when you refuse to care about yourself or others? Is it really so important to be 'right' or exercise your 'rights'?

What do you think? Is it more important for you to be 'right' or for you to be alive, healthy and happy? And if you choose 'right' please explain why.