Cathy Bernstein of Port St. Lucie here in Florida was recently named as the alleged driver involved in a hit-and-run incident. Her own automobile “ratted her out” and called the cops when its airbag was deployed after the crash. Officials received an automated call from the car’s emergency response system giving Bernstein’s location and putting her on the phone with a police operator.
Reportedly, Bernstein originally denied she’d been in a crash. The operator was skeptical because the car’s accident notification system was known for its accuracy. She contacted police who were already in the area. They were investigating a hit-and-run accident involving a silver car.
When police arrived at Bernstein’s location, they found silver paint on the damaged front end of her black car. Bernstein finally admitted that she had hit the car and left the scene. She also reportedly told police that at the time of the crash, she was fleeing from another accident. Bernstein was arrested and taken to the local county jail.
Certainly, Bernstein thought that having a car with an OnStar device would be in her best interest. She probably thought it would help her in an emergency. Ironically, it helped lead to her incarceration. It seems, at least in her case, it was for the best.
Many times, the things we put in place can come back at us. Sometimes they can knock us down. Americans refer to this phenomenon as “What goes around, comes around.” Eastern culture calls it karma. Judaism speaks of “middah k’neged middah,” measure for measure.
Technology today creates an environment where cameras, videos, and voice recording are easily available on everyone’s cell phone. Red light cameras record drivers’ errant turns. Stores and buildings have surveillance going 24/7. One no longer needs to be paranoid to believe that he or she is being watched.
A core Jewish belief, as Rabbi Steven Pruzansky writes about in the front-page essay of this week’s Jewish Press, is that there is an all-seeing eye above who views and records all. Now we have the phenomenon above and below.
Be good…someone or something is watching!