“Now Junior, behave yourself………”

The above  is a line from a little known John Lennon song.

I feel the need to remind people to act kinder towards each other.

Is it me, or are my fellow Americans getting crusty and sharp around the edges?

A-case-in-point. I went into a coffee shop. I park legally in front of the coffee shop. A well-dressed, middle age woman barks at me…”Jesus! Who do YOU think you are, blocking me?”

First there was no blockage…………possible in her arteries if she keeps up the anger. She could well maneuver her car out of the space where she was legally parked. The “Jesus” line was uncalled for.

I asked her  if she was having a ” religious moment?”

This made her slam her car door and “blow dirt” as she hit the gas peddle and sped away in a huffy, pissy-pants mood. 

The same day the following happens. I have one item to check out at  Costco……..a warehouse store that sells boxes of oranges…………876,987 to the box. It is all about bulk and quantity at Costco. I hold a small coffee cake in my hands. I politely ask the couple in front of me if’s alright if I check out ahead of them with my one item. They had a basket gushing with goods. The gentleman snapped at me, “Wait your turn, Buddy!”

Buddy? I though Buddy is a name one gives to a Beagle, as in DOG………..

Why the short fuses? Why the rudeness? What is the genesis of flaring tempers?

 Are we moving too fast? Not concerned about others? Snapping at small things like parking spaces and places in line? What happens when something critical happens? A full throttle,  tongue lashing, meltdown?

Oh, civility!  Where have ye gone?

Brendan Ben Feeney