GOING WRONG

JOYPEACE

We drove into a one-way street one evening at the rush hour, and headed against traffic. Everyone started honking their horns! Our violation of a city ordinance had found us out. We were in trouble. The world at that moment was against us. Our sense of pride as well-intentioned, law-abiding citizens was against us. No police warning was neessary. Our wrongdoing was discovered. We were public violators of the law—and in our own eyes. But the experience was a test of character and fidelity too; for having been caught openly doing wrong, we showed our status as citizens (continued respect for the traffic law) by our attitude toward it. In this case we crept along the right lane to the next intersection and turned off to another avenue. To have remained driving in the wrong way would have revealed us as foolhardy, stubborn, and lacking in regard for law or human life.