Civility

In the last ten years or so, and certainly in the last two years, civilized behavior in American society has degraded significantly. Rudeness, poor manners, disrespect, and intentional discourtesy have become common. These are not just the ravings of an old geezer, although the description does indeed fit me well.

I see it in the check out line at many stores. Respect for one's elders? Get real. One of the rudest and most disrespectful people I know is one of my own nieces. My thirty something son is not far behind her. Totally self centered. No compassion or empathy for other people.

If you go to an airport and fly somewhere on a commercial airline, you will see constant examples of this breakdown in civilized behavior. Or try driving your car at the exact maximum speed limit. You will be amazed at just how many people you see who lose it and become totally road enraged. How dare you prevent them from violating the traffic speeding laws and driving unsafely? A great many people are now vastly too important to use their turn indicators when driving, and the law restricting drivers from using their cell phones is widely ignored.

Treat someone badly at work, or at school, and they may well return with multiple firearms, gobs of ammunition, and begin killing people. If they actually have been treated unfairly, and if their life has developed in such a way that they think they have very little to lose, the chances of them doing something stupid increases.

This arrogance is not just an American phenomenon either. You see virtually the same sort of rudeness and high-handedness around the world. London, Paris, and Madrid are almost as bad. I think that the high population density may have something to do with it. Country people everywhere are more courteous, and they are more willing to be of assistance if you are in need.

Talking snakes, men living inside of big fish, virgins getting pregnant without having had sex, and drinking the blood/eating the the flesh of God's reanimated, decomposing dead son are all of course really stupid. But when humans have no external control from extended families or from some form of religion, they do tend to become ruthless.

Forecasting the future is somewhat difficult. I don't seem to be very good at it. I have been trying to imagine how this might play out if it continues to progress. People getting more arrogant and rude and self centered. What I see is not a pretty picture.

-
-
-
-
-
-