After the race Carl Edwards commented on the move saying, “A real smart racer explained it to me this way after he wrecked me and I was really mad. He said, ‘I just had to look at your rear bumper and decide, would you do this to me? And you had before, so it was a real simple decision.’”

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

For many that’s known as The Golden Rule. Not only is it supposed to guide society, but when individuals keep the so-called Golden Rule in mind, we suddenly find ourselves living in a society where morality is high, and kindness reigns supreme. Very early in life we’re taught to respect one another, and above all, keep in mind, that if we don’t want to be treated badly, then we should not treat others badly. Does this mean we’re never treated poorly, or that we never treat others poorly? Probably not. After all, lets also remember that we’re human. That means along the way we’re bound to step on some toes. Whether it’s done intentionally, or unintentionally, things happen and we do stupid things.

But, in the end, we need to ask ourselves, have we learned from the experience?

Kyle Busch of course was not happy after the race. But then again, he never is and will always cry foul when he gets treated poorly. But reality is this, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Or, put another way, “What goes around, comes around.” That’s exactly what happened in the race. During the post race interview Edwards went onto say;

“Earlier this year we had a Nationwide race and Kyle was a lot faster than me and he went ahead and got to my back bumper of my car and sent me up the racetrack. Afterwards, he said, ‘sorry man, my car was just faster.’ So in my mind, I had to ask myself when I went down there in the corner, ‘Should I lift and brake early and do the best I can or should I just kind of give him a little tap and see what happens.’ So that’s the way it went and that’s the decision I made and I’d do it again.”

If Busch is going to blame anyone for the on-track incident, he needs to blame himself. He’s set the stage and his own table for how he’s treated on the race track. What goes around comes around, and it came around to him last night. How did Busch react? Very poorly. After the checkered flag flew, Busch pulled up along side of Edwards and rammed his car into the 99 car.

First off, this is just wrong. I’ve written about such actions before, and no matter who it is, I’ve always said if someone decides to use their car as a weapon, they should be parked by NASCAR. Since Busch used his car as a weapon, he needs to be parked by NASCAR. If those who sanction NASCAR are going to get the drivers attention for such behavior on the track, they need to park them for a race or two. Will that happen? Probably not. After all, Busch is first in points, and right now he seems to be the golden boy of NASCAR who can do no wrong. That should have no bearing on their decision at all though. I’ve said this about all the drivers, Carl Edwards included when he’s pulled such on track stunts. The bottom line is this, if a driver uses his car as a weapon, he should be parked and miss a few races.

How did NASCAR view the whole situation? They were obviously upset with Busch, but not Edwards. When the race was finished, Kyle Busch was called to the NASCAR hauler, the equivalent of the Principal’s office, for a talking to. Edwards however was not called in. What was said during the behind closed door meeting is unknown. Busch did not comment when he came out of the hauler. But, if NASCAR were smart, they looked Busch in the eye and said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” In the past Busch has proven he has no problem putting someone into the wall while going for win. Simply put, Edwards, and pretty much every other driver on the track, did to Busch what he does to them.

Am I condoning the actions of Edwards on the track? Absolutely not. Personally, I do not like it when drivers, any driver, pushes someone else out of the way. If you can’t race clean, don’t race at all. But we can all learn a lesson from the on track antics at last nights race. It should make us all pause for a moment and ask, “How do I treat others? Do I treat them as I would like to be treated?” Or, and maybe this is even better, maybe we should ask, “Am I being treated poorly because I’ve treated the other person poorly?” If the answer to that question is yes, then maybe it’s time to make some personal changes along the way.

Will change come easy? Probably not. After all, in many cases it’s a mindset change we need to tap in to as we journey along this thing we call life. But, the Golden Rule has been around for a long time. When we act responsibly toward others, usually they act responsibly toward us.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Luke 6:31

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

I loved the show in the early ’90′s and along the way I’ve forgotten most of the episodes, and realized I also missed some along the way. This week I started on season one, and today I watched episode three, Soapy Sanderson. The episode was good, as usual, but one scene in particular jumped off the screen at me. Dr. Fleischman is, once again, is having Maggie problems. In this particular episode he finds himself chatting with Chris, the philosophical radio announcer, about life, and how to connect with Maggie. He’s done something stupid again, putting himself first, which has turned her off.

Now it’s no secret, even by episode three of season one, that Fleischman does not want to be in Alaska. It seems every waking moment is spent trying to figure out a way to get back to New York City. Chris cuts through all of that and simply says, “It doesn’t matter if you’re going to be here for four years, four weeks, four months, or four hours. What’s important is how do you positively effect those around you in the time that you have here.”

Wow! What an amazing thought!

I guess that’s my thought for tonight as I get ready once again to wind down for another day. I would ask you the same thing I find myself asking myself right now — How did I positively effect those around me today?

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

Here’s the fascinating part of the race though. As Matt was out in front with about 10 laps to go, Jimmie Johnson suddenly turned it on and there they were racing side by side. Jimmie fell back, but then he turned it on once again. Suddenly in the midst of the race Matt Kenseth keys his radio and asks his crew chief something to the effect of — “Should I fall back and come in second?”

Rusty Wallace, who’s about the only good announcer ABC has these days covering the races, said “that’s odd. Why would a racer ask if he should fall back into second place instead of running for the win.”

The post race interview with Matt said it all.

When asked what it was like to go side by side Matt said it was fun, but he was most concerned about “not” wrecking Jimmie Johnson. “After all,” continued Matt, “he is running for the championship.”

That comment alone speaks loudly about Matt Kenseth, his integrity, and his looking out for the other guy, even when a win is on the line. He knows he’s out of the chase for the championship, and while a win would have been nice, he wasn’t about to race recklessly, and end up wrecking both himself, and Jimmie Johnson, who is not only racing for a win, but also racing for the championship. Many other drivers would have wrecked Johnson for the win, but not Matt Kenseth. That’s why Matt is my favorite driver. It’s not all about him, it’s about his team, and it’s about integrity, and it’s about having the respect of the other drivers around him.

When the chips are down, and when there’s a win on the line, who should we look out for? We live in a world that says “win at all costs and always look out for number one.” But I think Matt Kenseth may have exhibited a character trait of One who laid down His life so that we might all have life.

Think about that for a moment, can you think of Someone else who “stepped aside” so that we could in turn win the race of life?

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

Sometimes in this journey we call life we get a little wound up and it seems all we’re doing is going fast and turning left. Tempers can flair as we bump into one another and sometimes even get out of control. Many times we simply add to our stress level as a result of not willing to slow down to either let the other guy go past, or reflect on what God might be trying to teach us in the moment.

As I wrap up another day, I’m trying to slow down for a few minutes to ponder the events of the day, and yes even the week. Maybe this should be a weekend set aside for contemplation, instead of simply going fast and turning left.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus