There are few things in life that test a person’s patience quite like getting stuck on a two-lane freeway behind two semitrucks climbing a long uphill grade. One truck is in the right lane, moving at approximately the speed of continental drift. The other is in the left lane, attempting to pass at a breathtaking advantage of perhaps half a mile per hour.
For miles, the two trucks remain side by side, locked in a heroic battle for highway supremacy. Behind them, a growing parade of cars quietly begins reconsidering every decision that led them to this moment. You watch the left truck creep forward a few feet, then fall back, then creep forward again, while your destination slowly becomes something future generations may eventually reach.
At some point you stop being angry and simply become invested in the competition. Will Truck Number Two actually complete the pass before the top of the hill? Will the driver suddenly discover more horsepower? Will civilization still exist when this is over?
Eventually, after what feels like several seasons and possibly a change in presidential administration, one truck finally pulls ahead and moves back into the right lane. The highway opens before you like the gates of heaven.
You accelerate past, enjoying several glorious seconds of freedom—right up until you see the next uphill grade.