I guess I am a complete fool for holding a door open for someone, especially women, when I am at the store. I was always taught to be especially polite towards women, in that respect.
By the same token, if I had a girlfriend and she was sitting on the passenger side of the car, I wouldn’t expect her to open the door herself to get out. I’d rather she wait for me to open the door. In fact, I’d probably get upset if she got out of the car on her own. As we are going out of a restaurant headed to the car, I’d like to be the one to unlock and open the passenger door for her before I get in myself.
Today, however, we ignore these courtesies. We’re just a bunch of self-centered Americans. I find it rather ironic back when I took French class in high school how my teacher told us that the French were rude. Now I am not so sure that’s true. I am beginning to wonder if maybe the reason why other countries hate America is not so much the way our government dictates foreign policy as it is because most of us really are a bunch of assholes.
I go 75 mph or more and yet I am amazed at how many cars pass me. They sit there on my tail in their big pickup trucks, like they are waiting for me to move out of their way.
And you know what? I don’t get out of their way. I make them go around. I am not in a hurry to get where I am going, especially if it’s work, so I am going to take my time. Then there are those who don’t use their turn signals. They just weave in and out of lanes. I love it, especially when you try to get on the interstate and the people in the lane don’t move over. They just go faster in hopes they don’t let you in.
Back when I was growing up in Brookfield and La Grange Park, Illinois in grade school, I lived on a street where my sister, my parents and I made friends with other kids on the block and their parents. In a way, as sexist and silly as I find ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” the one thing that show has gotten right is how they as neighbors always look out for one another.
If I stepped out of line at another friend’s house, that person’s parents would tell me to get out of their house. The same went f they stepped out of line at our house. And God help you if upon going home, your parents found out later from that other person’s parents why you were sent home. Not only would you be yelled at by the friend’s parents, but you’d get scolded by your own.
People don’t even have respect for showing up on Sunday at God’s house. Most of the ones I have seen who attend church services show up in trashy clothes. Would they ever show up at a job interview looking like trash, at funeral, or a wedding? I was taught to wear dress slacks, a dress shirt and dress shoes. I remember when I was an altar boy – again, God help you if the nun in charge of the altar boys found wearing gym shoes when serving mass.
What do I see today t mass? Kids wearing gym shoes serving mass. I remember one time how the priest go upset and yelled at the congregation about showing up late to mass.
Today, they can’t scold the congregation out of fear they’ll lose parishioners, and they lose them, they lose money. No money means no church.
It’s not funny when we look at how Americans continue to show disrespect towards others in real life.
In fact, it’s not funny at all.
©1/26/10
