Me, Me and More Me!
Yesterday there was one of those lists of "the year's most shocking pictures/events" --needless to say, I was lured into checking it out by my own prurient interest: what I found was truly shocking, yet still surprising to me. I saw a large black woman splayed out face down on a hospital waiting room floor while another waiting patient and security guard remained seated in their chairs. I also saw a young man opening a Wal-Mart door the day after Thanksgiving and being trampled to death by tunnel vision shoppers, who afterwards insisted on being allowed to shop. Then I saw a man who had kept his daughter locked up in a basement for 24 years, fathering 5 children with her, while his wife knowingly watched on upstairs. I am horrified over man's inhumanity to their fellow mankind, but more horrified of the increasing incidents of such behaviors. These are no longer anomalies but actions we read about with what might be considered a "non-plussed" attitude of indifference. Why have we become so anesthetized to such happenings? Why have greed, total self-centeredness, and a complete lack of consideration for others become such acceptable traits in our society? It is as if, more often than not, we expect most people to behave from these positions of self interest. Are we back to a jungle mentality of "survival of the fittest," with the "fittest" being the person who only cares about himself and no one else who doesn't directly benefit his goals?
As extreme as the above examples may be, there are examples of this mentality that we are presented with every day. "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you" is not merely a Christian concept. This is the basis for good manners, mutual respect, friendships,
lawfulness, civic mindedness, community relations, neighborliness, and obeying even the unspoken rules of any personal interactions. In its most basic form it means considering the impact on others of one's actions from the point of view of how you would feel if the same action were targeted towards you. If you passed out (possibly dying) in a hospital waiting room would you not want someone to come to your aid, or at least, immediately react by going to get help?
But again, this apathetic attitude towards others permeates our lives: my son just got off of an airplane where the majority of the passengers were literally sick and should have been bedridden, but getting to visit their relatives, no matter what, trumped the obvious result of infecting the other passengers. I am sure couples with a three month old baby want to go to the movies and not pay for a babysitter, but does that mean that their baby crying throughout the film in order that they get to see the movie is more important than the other 200 people in the theatre paying $10 a piece yet not being able to enjoy the show undisturbed by chronic wails.
And what about dogs pooping on my lawn? When did I become the city park where people who live in condos stop to relieve their pets without once thinking how they would feel if it were their house and lawn. And how many times have I been crossing the street at a marked crossroad, only to have some woman with a Jesus fish on the back of her car whiz by me as if I were invisible? And road rage, why does the other person think the road is his and not equally mine?
Doesn't the fact that we are all on the road suggest that we all have destinations we deem important. And then there is the next door neighbor's barking dog all night -- oh I forgot, in today's age animals are much more important than humans -- does the fact that the noise doesn't bother the owner mean the rest of the sleepless neighbors should suffer? And littering, as I watch someone throw his McDonald's wrapper and cup out of his car window I wonder if he ever thought what our streets would be like if every other driver was simultaneously doing the same thing. This would put an end to road rage for we would not be able to drive in the trash heap on our roads. "Shoplifting" is rampant in the U.S. and the incidents increasing with the economic downturn. But the shoplifter wants what he wants now and feels entitled to it. It matters not that the cost of items goes up for the rest of us due to the losses. No, all that matters is that one person gets what he wants by stealing from another. I don't think he would feel that way if it were his own shop, but that is never considered.
That is the problem, lack of consideration for others and a sense of entitlement. So what's new about that preachy statement? Nothing. We all know it and, sadly, we all now expect that to be the case. So, if the other guy is busy getting what he wants at my expense then my natural reaction is to start taking care of myself and going after what I want before I get trampled upon - thus, the vicious cycle grows. Are we merely going to be a world of survivalists who sit by and watch genocide, attrocities and perpetuattion of harm on others with selfish indifference, or can we become a society of patience, restraint, and mutual consideration. What would it hurt to let the people off of the bus before we started getting on the bus in order to get the best seat -- the bus isn't leaving without you, you are all going to the same destination, and in the totality of your life not getting the best seat won't kill you -- but being the guy who opens the bus door, just might!
As extreme as the above examples may be, there are examples of this mentality that we are presented with every day. "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you" is not merely a Christian concept. This is the basis for good manners, mutual respect, friendships,
lawfulness, civic mindedness, community relations, neighborliness, and obeying even the unspoken rules of any personal interactions. In its most basic form it means considering the impact on others of one's actions from the point of view of how you would feel if the same action were targeted towards you. If you passed out (possibly dying) in a hospital waiting room would you not want someone to come to your aid, or at least, immediately react by going to get help?
But again, this apathetic attitude towards others permeates our lives: my son just got off of an airplane where the majority of the passengers were literally sick and should have been bedridden, but getting to visit their relatives, no matter what, trumped the obvious result of infecting the other passengers. I am sure couples with a three month old baby want to go to the movies and not pay for a babysitter, but does that mean that their baby crying throughout the film in order that they get to see the movie is more important than the other 200 people in the theatre paying $10 a piece yet not being able to enjoy the show undisturbed by chronic wails.
And what about dogs pooping on my lawn? When did I become the city park where people who live in condos stop to relieve their pets without once thinking how they would feel if it were their house and lawn. And how many times have I been crossing the street at a marked crossroad, only to have some woman with a Jesus fish on the back of her car whiz by me as if I were invisible? And road rage, why does the other person think the road is his and not equally mine?
Doesn't the fact that we are all on the road suggest that we all have destinations we deem important. And then there is the next door neighbor's barking dog all night -- oh I forgot, in today's age animals are much more important than humans -- does the fact that the noise doesn't bother the owner mean the rest of the sleepless neighbors should suffer? And littering, as I watch someone throw his McDonald's wrapper and cup out of his car window I wonder if he ever thought what our streets would be like if every other driver was simultaneously doing the same thing. This would put an end to road rage for we would not be able to drive in the trash heap on our roads. "Shoplifting" is rampant in the U.S. and the incidents increasing with the economic downturn. But the shoplifter wants what he wants now and feels entitled to it. It matters not that the cost of items goes up for the rest of us due to the losses. No, all that matters is that one person gets what he wants by stealing from another. I don't think he would feel that way if it were his own shop, but that is never considered.
That is the problem, lack of consideration for others and a sense of entitlement. So what's new about that preachy statement? Nothing. We all know it and, sadly, we all now expect that to be the case. So, if the other guy is busy getting what he wants at my expense then my natural reaction is to start taking care of myself and going after what I want before I get trampled upon - thus, the vicious cycle grows. Are we merely going to be a world of survivalists who sit by and watch genocide, attrocities and perpetuattion of harm on others with selfish indifference, or can we become a society of patience, restraint, and mutual consideration. What would it hurt to let the people off of the bus before we started getting on the bus in order to get the best seat -- the bus isn't leaving without you, you are all going to the same destination, and in the totality of your life not getting the best seat won't kill you -- but being the guy who opens the bus door, just might!
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