Thank you. I've seen and heard the first sentence of the first quote many times. Never knew where it came from, alway knew it was true.

It's the third car because the first car is inside the intersection and can't see the light without laying the head on the dashboard and twisting to view upwards; the second car is probably on the cellphone discussing the antics of the first car's driver; and the third car is the only one who noticed the light change.

Meldy, You must drive an SUV. The second car can't see over the SUV to see the light.

Thoughts on Elie Wiesel... A few years ago, on our (11-hour) drive to ND for Thanksgiving & bird hunting, I checked Night out from our local library on CD so we could listen to something engaging during the radio-station-challenged drive. As we were listening to the book (which I heartily recommend) on CD, Steve mentioned he had met its author several years prior. I've heard most of Steve's stories 20 times or more, but had never heard this one:

Steve had been asked to write a chapter in a science textbook on an area of his expertise. He was writing about the infectious mechanisms of some virus I no longer remember (I think it was a flavor of Hepatitis, but I'm not certain of this), and there was a discovery that had changed our understanding of the virus in an important way. As a scientist, Steve is methodical about documenting his sources, and documenting our evolving understandings of science so future scientists can re-evaluate them objectively as they add to and change the body of knowledge... the ugly reality about this particular revelation was that it was uncovered by German scientists... during WWII... in a manner that was both scientifically pristine and morally abhorrent.

Steve's instinct was to include the discovery, and to accurately describe the manner in which it was made so that it respected the truth of the science, but shone a light on the people who made the discovery and the manner in which they operated. He was not condoning it. In science, one cannot assert that one knows something without documenting how one knows it, and the discovery was pivotal to today's knowledge base.

The editor of the textbook, who was Jewish, was understandably outraged by Steve's choice. It is easy to understand how the repugnance of the methodology could cause one to reject the knowledge of the outcome.

So Steve met with Elie Wiesel and a few others to seek guidance on a morally acceptable way to proceed. After hearing his arguments, they agreed that the methodology was morally reprehensible... but ignoring the results did not serve the victims, and careful documentation did not glorify the victimizers.

Ultimately though, the editor did not budge his ground, and while Steve did not agree with him, he understood and respected his position. The textbook was not printed in the way Steve would have written it. Though no one can be "blamed" for not being "rational" in the wake of an irrational and unthinkable atrocity.

So, thinking about the book Night and the experience it recounts, thinking about the author's thoughtful manner in the face of a difficult moral and scientific dilemma... well, the quote is making me think again... in a very non-indifferent way...

Thanks Michelle for a 'private' glance into this author we'd have never seen otherwise. I have so many, many faults but I don't think I've ever been accused of being indifferent. Some use the phrase of minding one's own business as a euphemism for indifference. The first is noble the second a common human fault. I don't understand people who don't have some sort of fire in their gut for something.

Oakleif ~ Thanks for the quote. That's one I've had around for a long time, and it always makes me pause... and remind myself that a hot-temper is not the opposite of indifference.

jaz ~ Thanks for the story. Since I agree with Steve's viewpoint, it makes me think that sometimes editors have too much control and thus practice censorship rather than editing.

andie ~ I thought the three cars were all SUVs. No, I drive a little Toyota that gets 48 mpg on the highway, but only 28 mpg round town; and [sniff, sob] most of my driving is round town. In the scene, I'm in the fourth car, wondering how much longer until the signal turns green.

Jaz, Thanks for the story about Elie Weisel. I can understand the editor's reluctance to include that information even if I may or may not agree with it (I'd have to think about it some more). Maybe the editor had family who died in the holocaust (or worse still had family subjected to the medical "experiments" performed in the camps) & the whole episode is just to painful to refer too. This isn't "logical" but it's certainly understandable.