To Understand is to Believe: Know the Facts
As humans, it is only natural to criticize unfamiliar circumstances before actually understanding and analyzing the situation at hand. This is a result of our complex minds being built essentially with the same instincts; on a more specific note, with the same first reaction to new information. Let’s assume that we are pondering what we know, or think we know, about a typical truck driver. There are countless stereotypes involved with this occupation, but most portray truck drivers as being excessively lazy, careless, overweight, disloyal to families- typically to the wife, low paid, raunchy, ill-educated, and “in the way.” Though this may be true for some, it is misunderstood of others.
Have you ever met one of these hard-working individuals? They are the same as you and me, they just live different lifestyles. Coming from a genuine trucker, “the job takes an unlimited amount of patience in order to have complete focus and control of the 80,000 pound piece of equipment.” From the crescendo of the arousing motor to the screeching sound of keys pulling out of the ignition, a trucker’s job is never done. He must continuously think about where and when he will sleep again, how to arrive to his next destination, and legally filling out the repulsive log book while operating the “18-wheeler” through his extensive journey. Not only that, but most truckers typically spend a week or more on the road away from their families, which has a long lasting effect on the family unit; yet they still leave basically every weekend to deal with idiotic drivers only concerned with their cell phones. Another thing that we may not know about truck drivers is that they have to deal with dispatchers and are sometimes asked to do impossible maneuvers in a construction zone or