The Heartbreaking Texting & Driving Documentary That Made Me a Better Man Posted by Nathan S. on 08/15/13 | Filed under Opinion

Everyday I ask myself, "What is no other 'rap' site writing about? Why?" And then I try to write about whatever that thing is, especially during a week that's been all "Control" everything...all the time...always.

So with that in mind, last week Werner Herzog released "From One Second to the Next", a heartbreaking new PSA/documentary about the often fatal and always devastating aftermath of texting and driving accidents. For those who are familiar with Herzog's resume, you already know what it is. For those who aren't, Herzog's famous for doing intense movies that blur the lines between documentary and fiction (less fancily, he's kind of balls crazy).

While "One Second to the Next" is far more of a traditional documentary, it's just as devastating as his best work. From the opening shot of a sister who literally had her brother snatched from her hands to the last frame, this is the kind of film you can't turn away from.



Here's where things get personal. While this doc is powerful, it doesn't really tell me anything I didn't already know; it's fucking stupid to text and drive. I've "meant" to quit, and I mean really quit, but I haven't. I've literally thought, "I shouldn't open up my phone right now, but then what if I forget this Migos Twitter joke?" After watching this, it's more than embarrassing to admit, it's shameful to admit, but I'm putting myself out there first.

There are so many things we know we need to change in our lives, but the gap between what we know we should change, and what we actually change, can feel like an abyss. We still reach for that drink, that cheeseburger, we still fuck up that relationship, we still send that text while steering with our knees, even though every logical and rational part of us knows we shouldn't.

Right now this documentary feels like the thing that will finally, truly, kill my texting while driving habit. How could I look at Zavier's mother and tell her I paralyzed her son because of an internet joke? How could I hate someone who hit my daughter texting and driving - literally the most terrifying thing I can imagine - when I knew I'd done the same thing myself 1,000 times? So far this feels like a legitimate change, I haven't even checked my phone while driving in two days, but that's just two days. I might fail, and get back on the wagon, and fail again.

But I wanted to put my mistakes out there publicly so I'm now also beholden to RefinedHype Nation to do better. Maybe this post, and this documentary, will inspire you put down the phone away too. Maybe it won't. Maybe that change, small or large, you know you need to make in your life is something completely different. Whatever is is, I refuse to miss out on the chance to improve my life because I'm afraid it'll sound corny, afraid people will think this isn't what a rap site is "supposed" to write about.

It's bigger than hip-hop.