The Zebra Crossing

They’re everywhere, you've all seen them, sitting there motionless, providing a false sense of security and I'm here to tell you that it is a sham. Throughout my whole life I have been told that they are safe havens, that this monstrosity will protect us from the demon that is the automobile, but somebody must have neglected to tell vehicles that, or they weren't listening. This foul-striped path that's only similarity to a zebra is its stripes, provides no protection whatsoever, perhaps it is because zebras are not feared among the animal kingdom, what if we painted the crossings to resemble lions or serpents, why are these animals neglected while the zebra is so highly praised? If it was a lion crossing would cars approach it with a bit more caution? Two of my friends lost their lives on these abominations, and I've had one near miss and two hits. I find buses to be the worst culprits, speeding up when the light turns red, flooring the pedal when they see a child approach the crossing, only thinking about the time they'll save, not of the life they may be taking. Everyday I see children watching, waiting for the little green man to spread his legs, signifying that it's safe to cross, and then they walk, oblivious to the fact that the little red man is waiting patiently for them to reach the centre, and then the red man start flashing. There once was a time when I used to marvel at the red man flashing, when he came on, people would move faster, some people would even stop, I was fascinated that one little machine could have so much power, so much control over people, and to have a man flash in public and get away with it was brilliant. Times change, now, as much as cars ignore crossings, so too do we, they've lost their meaning and half the people on the road don’t even know the laws regarding the crossing. I know the laws, I break them everyday, after all, rules were made to be broken, but at what cost? If a society is based on law, what happens when the law holds no meaning, does society itself begin to fall apart, and once society and law are gone, and we are primitives once more, what then? Does the cycle start anew?