What is with us that we think the rules do not apply to us?

So there I was at the doctor’s office with my Bride waiting to get blood drawn and I look out the front door and see this.

That got me to wondering, what is wrong with this guy that he could not walk the extra 7.2 steps from a parking spot and instead felt he needed to block the access to a Doctor’s office. I was not sure how long it had been sitting there or even why it may be sitting there, so close to signage indicating NO PARKING ANY TIME, it is in all caps on the sign. Maybe he did not see it or the other 6 of them lined up there, there was another one similarly close to the back of the truck. Even with the camera that is in my cell phone this sign was readable from the front door, how could this guy miss the warnings? I started thinking, maybe he is handicapped and needed to park that close, after a closer look I saw no handicap placard hanging from the rear view mirror. I also noticed that the spots designated for the handicapped were even closer than the spot where this guy chose to park. I thought as I was leaving I would just walk over to the truck, counting the steps and then count the steps to where my car was parked, since I had the rock star parking spot (the closest legal spot to the door) and that is how I came up with the 7.2 step difference.

I feel that Zippy parking like this is a classic example of what is wrong with us Americans, lazy with a feeling of entitlement. Now I am not going to stereo type every American into that category but I think by and large and to varying degrees that statement hold true. Obviously the rules did not apply guy, or gal because at this point I do not know who the driver is. This is just one example, we have all seen folks park in the handicap spot without even the placard let alone an actual handicap that would hinder them from parking too far away from the door. I have never had a problem reminding them that they forgot to display the placard, as mandated by the law. I have often wondered why that when people are in their car or even using their car it seems that there is some feeling of exemption or entitlement. We are rude when we drive, again not everyone but to make my point I say it that way. Think about it, we cut people off, we won’t let them cut in while in traffic, we flip people off, we throw things at other cars. When you really think about it in most situations those people are good folks and would never in a million years do that or act like that in ANY other situation.

Why then are we so quick to show our asses when behind the wheel? Why are folks so self centered and uncaring of other people’s feelings, do we have a special set of rights that allow us to behave like this towards others? Why is it that we allow such insignificant things in life to make us so angry that we do not bother to think of the other person’s feelings? Today anger and just plain meanness seem to have permeated every aspect of our lives. Maybe it was bound to happen, in this fast-paced world we live in everyone is just in too big a hurry to care about the simplest things. I am not sure why folks find it easier to be the rude, cynical, and yes, disrespectful than to be kind, compassionate and understanding. One of my favorite books is by Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, I think it should required reading for everyone in our country at least one a year. He has a lot of good books that just explain a very common sense approach to things, if you get the chance check them out.

It is a complicated thing to get your head around, this discourtiness, it makes my head hurt just to think about it. I almost believe it could be tied to the decline of the nuclear family, maybe the weight on the backs of the middle (more and more we are lower class) class has finally reached the breaking point. Are we not teaching the youth manners, are we not teaching them proper social behavior, are we not teaching them civic responsibility, are we relying on our public school system to perform the parenting tasks? Maybe it is that we have been striving for more and more stuff for way to long, Baby Boomers, the Me Generation, the Yuppies, Gen X’ers, all of us have lived our lives in a selfish struggle for more stuff. I sometimes wonder if our own arrogance has brought us to this place. Could it be that we don’t even notice that we are bombarded with examples of rude and cynical people that are represented as cool and hip on TV and in film. It is such a wave of negativity that we can no longer even take, or have, the time to actually think about consequences of that bombardment. Are we blindly mimicking our stars? Do we think we are cool because we show our asses, just like the knuckleheads on our favorite reality shows. Maybe the problem is like many others we face, just too complicated to our feeble minds to dissect and understand.

I for one know I am doing my part, I try very hard to give the benefit of the doubt and not get worked up over stupid things, if no one died and it aint on fire than it is just not that bad, no matter what it is. Smile and show some love folks – and if you don’t already do it, park your car in a designated spot you lazy ass.