Thinking about other people...

This is not so much a rant as it is a commentary. An observation. Or, more accurately, a series of observations. Perhaps diatribe is more apropos. It is welling up, like the steam in a pressure cooker and needs somewhere to go. Now, the lid is off…
To where did consideration go? No, not the ‘r word’. “Yo, you don’t give me no respect… I don’t give you no respect.” Nor is this a polite issue. Considerate: “showing concern for the rights and feelings of others.” Showing concern for others. Take a moment to ponder; there are other people out there? I am not alone? The world does not revolve around me? Somebody has to clean up after me? That is preposterous!
So, dear friends, to what am I referring to? Well, in the last few days, I have jaunted around town as the proverbial free spirit. School is out and, with but a few appointments on the calendar, I have made my way from bookstore to restaurant to mall to here and there. And there is one commonality that has been all but avoidable; I have encountered more inconsideration than would be reasonably believed to be random in nature. Rather, I think it is part of our culture. A dismal part, mind you, but a facet nonetheless. I am not talking sinister intentions. Nor am I talking a sensitivity to every little boo-hoo and batted eye. I am talking about the guy in the car going entirely too fast that cuts you off at the last possible second at the well-advertised merge point. Oh yeah, and he flips you off. Or the lady that nearly runs you down whilst moving through the crosswalk, never mind the 30’ foot sign that indicates “Yield to Pedestrians” then proceeds to roll down her window and yell at you. Or the guy that cuts in front of you at the front door to Panera, opens the door just enough to squeeze his inflated backside through without ever considering (a-ha! There is that word!) holding the door for you. Or the lady on the way out, for whom you hold the door, which cannot spare a breath or whisper of “thanks” as you hold the door for her. Or the young fellow that flicks his cigarette butt on my front sidewalk as he saunters by; that’s okay, though, because as a non-smoker, I indulge in the time I am in the front of my house sweeping up cigarette butts.
I do not endorse Vigilante Consideration Enforcement. Politeness, requisite to being considerate, is taught at home. It is taught at school. It is expected at work. It is expected in every walk of life. Courtesy is not an entitlement. Consideration, however, separates us from the animals. It is “please” and “thank you” that is second nature; part of life and willingly dispensed, without hesitation.
Tomorrow is a new day. I will start with saying thank you to the mailman and offering him a cold bottle of water. I hope he doesn’t leave the empty bottle on my sidewalk.