My old eyes have seen a lot things most other peoples haven't. Savagery, viciousness, deliberate acts of hatred and the results of those acts. Though I have been spared the first hand experiences over the last 15 years for the most part, I like you are exposed to them through the media, what is on my mind is what we have become.
Quick example, yesterday I was in a store and the lady in front of me at the checkout had more than she could carry. She hesitated in picking up her other box when she realized she couldn't handle both of them. The clerk did the same wondering who she could call to help, I was right there and was going to walk out the same door so I offered to help. The clerk was surprised and said something about it, the lady offered to pay me for carrying it out after I put it in her car. I have been shaking my head about this for two days. What ever happened to acts of kindness? Are they so rare now that they have to acknowledged by praise or money?
I was recently exposed to a whole new culture, it was one of me first (though that exists everywhere, more so there) and I only care about me and if you are in my way I will step on you. I don't mean in business where that is common I am talking about going down the grocery store aisle. I had to take it for what it was, I didn't like it but "I" was the stranger with the crazy notions of watching out for the other guy.
Please don't misunderstand what I am saying here, I am not putting myself out as some shining example, I'm normal, but what the hell happened to these other people?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc&feature=PlayList&p=6484ADB8CE1B847E&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=1
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1 comment:
Your post reminded me of this article. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37399539/ns/health-behavior/
I feel like I notice people being more selfish and less caring, too. When I was substitite teaching, it seemed like the only thing the kids cared about was making themselves look or sound good, regardless of how it affected other people. This article I am sharing was shared on a message board I belong to, and several people commented on it, saying things like, "Well, what can you expect? Kids are kids. They aren't any different now than they used to be. We can't expect them to be empathetic and compassionate because they are exposed to too much media." These replies all came from the same people who took an empathy test and said either that they couldn't be bothered to see where they compared with other people or they never had empathy for somebody who was in a situation because they "deserved it" or brought it on themselves. Apparently it IS all about them!
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