Is it OK to cross a red light?

In the US, the “crime” of crossing on red is called “red light running”; in the UK, it’s “red light jumping” (RLJ). But surely it’s only dangerous if you cross at speed, in neglect of other road-users. Instead of waiting and polluting pointlessly, shouldn’t we be encouraged to proceed on opportunity? Should road-users who use their inner lights instead of obeying crass regulation be praised rather than penalised? If people acted en masse, we could see a peaceful revolution against the tyranny of traffic regulation.