I learned a lot during a power blackout here in San Diego the other day.  The whole county, parts of other counties and part of Mexico were without electricity.  “Plunged into darkness” as the newspapers would have you believe.  Truth is, the darkness came at about the same rate it usually does, it just wasn’t artificially supplemented.

The blackout started in the afternoon long before dark set in and the neighborhood parties got going and it was informative to watch people try to get home.  All the stop lights were out and cars were backed up blocks long all over the city.  But at least on the city streets I was on, people were patiently waiting their turn.  No horns and shouts, no cars sneaking across the intersection to try to get ahead of others.  Everyone seemed to know that each car had a right to go across the intersection and everyone let them get there.

And it got me thinking.  Maybe stop lights aren’t such a good idea.  Almost everyone seems to run the yellow lights, if not the red. If there’s no light, and no stop sign, people seem to do pretty well at being cooperative.  I know, I know, it was slow and cumbersome.  But in due time everyone got where they were going.

It was civilized and considerate.  Everyone agreed without argument; without even discussion. But more than traffic control, I’m wondering  what can we do to get a blackout on Capitol Hill?