On what authority was it decided that green should be “go” and red should be “stop?” Seems to me to be a completely arbitrary rule, decided by a minority of people in power with no input from those who might prefer it the other way around, or a different choice of colors. Furthermore, there is nothing except hidebound tradition, backed by force of law, compelling us to do it this way and not another – if not for that, I could choose to, say, slow down on green, stop on yellow and zoom right through on red. If that’s my preference, and there’s nothing but “custom” and the oppression of the majority (honking at me) preventing me from following my druthers, then why should I respect it?
[Waiting to see what this thread is *actually *about]
Because you don’t want to be converted into a mix of shredded metal and raw hamburger?
The arbitrariness of the rules is irrelevant. What matters is that there are a set of consistent rules and pretty much everyone follows them. Otherwise there would be chaos and lots of dead people, permanent traffic jams, or both.
Getting killed in an accident? Or, an increasingly large pile of tickets.
There is nothing save “custom” and laws to keep me from killing those that annoy me.
It’s those laws that are the real stickler…
Rebel against the hegemonic color autocracy! We need a full stakeholder consultancy on this. And lobbyists, don’t forget the lobbyists.
Traffic lights are part of a communication scheme, just as language and TCP/IP. Red means stop because we need a color that meant stop and picked red. It’s just as arbitrary then the sounds or letters of the word “stop” meaning to cease moving
If you were attempting to initiate a serious debate, I suggest that you state what your actual thesis is before I shut this down.
If you were attempting to do a parody of some other thread, at least provide a link. If you were simply under the influence of alcohol or drugs, I can still shut it down for you before it turns too bloody.
[ /Moderating ]
I don’t understand the question. In my state the law dictates that you stop at a red light. If you don’t, you risk fines, and possible loss of your license and of course injury to yourself and others.
Are you saying we don’t have to obey traffic laws?
It’s equally arbitrary whether we drive on the left or the right of the road: in fact, I’ve done both (i.e., driven on the right in two countries, and on the left in two other countries). The reason why, in a particular case, you choose one rather than the other is to get to where you want to go faster, avoid accidents, and avoid fines and other penalties.
It’s all a giant conspiracy by the man to keep blue down.
It’s a free country. If we wanted to make all the traffic lights mauve and teal, we could.
On what authority was it decided that OP’s in Great Debates must have an actual thesis? It seems to me to be a completely arbitrary rule, decided by a minority of people in power with no input from those who might prefer something different … . 
Is this a debate about the new Grand Theft Auto game?
I think it is a debate about whether there is a debate in the OP or if we should debate something about the OP or the OP hates red or somthing…
Move to India. You’ll fit right in.
Any accident which reduces you to raw hamburger will probably puncture a fuel line or the self-sealing blanket in the fuel tank. So you’d be cooked hamburger.
I agree, it stifles the creativity of the town to have to have one color.
Why not have red mean go in some towns and yellow mean stop. They could put a little sign on each traffic light to explain the rules.
If you’re too dumb to read, then don’t drive
Everyone knows that green means ‘caution’.
If you see that green dot after your user name, you should be very careful, and think, before you procede to post. Or you could end up in a train wreck.
Isn’t it obvious? The OP recently got a ticket for running a red light and is now mounting a defense for court.