As I was waiting in line at the grocery store a few days ago (no, I wasn't distracted by the usual items placed at the register to prod impulse buying, which is a major feat), I found myself contemplating just why —in our liberal, narcissistic, all-about-me society—people actually wait in line to pay for their groceries. It seems to me that in the past decade or so, the majority of the population has become increasingly self-centered and discourteous. I can barely travel five miles-per-hour above the speed limit without one or two drivers anxiously riding my tail and then whizzing past me at the earliest possible convenience. An old man can no longer stand at the register of a convenience store, counting out pennies to buy a pack of gum, without a soccer mom behind him disgustingly tapping her foot, rolling her eyes and sighing with abhorrence as she remarks to her friend on her Blackberry how long it is taking to pay for her morning Coke. In this day of vanity, how is it that a queue can still form and people still wait in line? Wouldn't pure anarchy please the masses today?
As I was contemplating the answer to this perplexing question, other infractions upon my personal "bubble" came to mind. Walking from class to class on campus, so much is forced upon me. Just the other day, I followed two girls (sisters, I assume) who spent the entire length of our walk cursing at each other, throwing their shoulders back and their heads toward the sky, and huffing about like little children. The only way for me to completely avoid the deplorable language that was so rudely used would be to put my headphones in my ears and concentrate on the music on my iPod, but then, no doubt, someone would scowl at me because I didn't hear them behind me and therefore couldn't get out of his or her way soon enough. Almost daily, I am obliged to walk through a cloud of nicotine-laced smoke while walking in the doors of the business building on campus because the "no smoking within 25 feet of a public building" law evidently does not apply to the smokers at universities. The time of good manners has so obviously passed, so why do we even try at all?
Well, I believe I've come up with a half-way decent answer. Most of us live in fear of one another, and those of us who don't genuinely want to make the world at least a little bit happier. The majority of people form themselves into lines out of dread for what may happen if we "butt" in front of someone else. Pick the wrong person to put off, and they'll tell you to "F-off," follow you out to your car and slash your tires while you're putting the groceries in your trunk, and then proceed to ram your compact-sized car with their giant new truck with spinners on the wheels and blaring rap music—sending you directly to the emergency room. For those of you, however, who truly try to be polite, I commend you for bringing a little bit of happiness to the rest of us. You are the one that single-handedly makes the world a better place. I admire you. I want to be like you, but for now I'll keep cowering like a sissy with the other eighty percent of us that are afraid of confrontation.
For those of you that don't appreciate cynicism, I apologize to you for ranting so much in this post. Please come back to my blog tomorrow to see the newest update, because I'll try to write something a little more up-beat.
