Today, I was driving behind a Suburu in a 30 mph zone.

Surprisingly, the Suburu was actually traveling at speeds over 30 mph as we were driving down a pretty steep hill.

I was satisfied with our clip, as we were nearing 40. However, once we hit level ground, the driver slowed to 30 mph or just under.

It continued as a single lane for about the next half mile, so I remained behind the Suburu. But about 50 yards before the next light, it opened up to two lanes, and I accelerated to pass the Suburu.

Anticipating that I might do this, the Suburu hit the gas, as well. On the other side of the lights, it remained two lanes for about 50 more yards before returning to a single lane. There were cars parked on the right, and oncoming traffic on the left.

I had the slight edge as we neared the single lane. Suddenly, the driver who couldn’t be bothered to drive 30 was up to 60 mph, trying to prevent me from passing.

As we neared the single lane, I moved toward the middle, forcing the suburu toward oncoming traffic, which had the desired effect of making her move behind me.

I started slowing from our 60 mph pace, as it was still a 30 mph zone, but she kept right up on my bumper. Suddenly, she took a left, and was gone.

What struck me about this, and caused me to right about it, was that it was all about control for her. She wasn’t just driving her car and doing her thing. She felt the need to control what I was doing and how fast I was driving.

Ironically, in her attempt to control me, she maxed out at the 60 mph pace that I had set. Who was really in control?

Undoubtedly, had I ended up behind her, she would have slammed on her brakes and taken her driving back to under 30 mph. But if she wanted to drive that slow, that’s fine. Why not just pull off and let me pass if I was bothering her. Then I go on about my way, and she’s no longer bothered by my presence. I do it all the time when someone faster pulls up behind me.

But that’s because I don’t care what other people do. If people around me want to drive twice as fast, have at it. If you want to drive slower, then let me by. No hard feelings.

I’m confident that the driver of this Suburu was a liberal, because conservatives wouldn’t normally assert themselves to prevent another from doing what they want to do.

The behavior represents the desired form of government. Liberals want the government to dictate the rules and control what we can all do, say, and think, while conservatives want freedom to reign so people are free to pursue their dreams without restraint.