There are several issues that have been running around my head, but nothing inspiring enough to write more than a few words about. So rather than just ramble a long time about one thing, I decided to ramble a short time about a bunch of random things. Let’s just call it a series of mini rantings from a mildly crazy person.
Politics. I have always been a firm believer in respecting everyone’s opinions even if I disagree with them. But I have to say that this current political climate has surpassed the lowest of the low expectations. There is no civility or even basic respect left. And just like a family or business the culture is driven from the top. In this case that means the President. I will be honest and say that I don’t like the man. Never have. I wasn’t a fan of his reality TV show or his business practices. And I’m definitely not a fan of his politics. And to be fair, I have a bias about any celebrity that runs for office at that level. So no, I don’t want to see Oprah, George Clooney or any other Hollywood activist run for political office. Not unless they start at the bottom and actually learn the business of governing. Running a country should not be something you do because you’re bored and have the money to do it. And it’s infuriating that people think the presidency should be entertaining. He’s not entertaining. He’s rude, disrespectful and just lacking basic decency and politeness. Government is not a reality television show. I will continue to respect the office of the President and Congress, but I don’t have to like the men and women that hold those offices.
Driving. Did they stop teaching driving students how to use the turn signal on vehicles? Does this have to be a voice activated option in cars? It’s not that hard to use the indicator switch to let the drivers behind you know that you’re about to slow down and make a turn or lane change. I know I’m old fashioned but it makes me crazy to have someone suddenly stop or cut in front of me while I’m driving and force me to hit my brakes or even swerve into another lane. Most of the time I’m a fairly polite driver in that I let people merge. I even slow down to let them into my lane. Yes, I’m an aggressive driver. Yes, I will curse and yell at other drivers (but only with the windows rolled up). But I’m not a rude or thoughtless driver. Deaths due to auto accidents are a serious problem in this city. I have to wonder how many would be prevented if people would just use their indicator light!
Internet Trolls. Let us just decide as a collective group to ignore these cretins. They have too much power right now and it needs to stop. The latest is to target celebrities and/or journalists and search the internet for any tiny bit of dirt or infraction in order to launch a smear campaign. I don’t think that a person necessarily needs to be punished for a thoughtless or tasteless comment made 10-15 years ago. One would hope that they would have learned from it and moved on. The internet trolls want you to believe that everyone needs to be perfect at all times and have figured out how to weaponize the internet. And the practice is completely out of hand. A person, even a celebrity, should not lose their job over something they said or posted on the internet more than a decade ago. Everyone has made a careless or rude remark, retold an offensive joke or just done something stupid in their lifetime. If the bulk of society would stop jumping on the bandwagon, the trolls would have to find something else to do. Take back the internet!
Trash. This ranks up there with using your signals while driving. People need to throw their trash away. I don’t care if I’m at the movies, shopping at the store, attending a concert/play or just walking down the street, there is too much trash being thrown on the ground. Trash cans are not that hard to find. At most entertainment venues there are trash cans right next to the door as you’re walking out. It is not a hardship to pick up the trash around your seat and drop it in the trash can on the way out. During the World Cup the fans from Japan and Senegal stayed to clean up the stadiums after their respective matches. It was amazing to watch. It was also disappointing to then go to the movie theater and see the mess left behind. Worse the trash cans at the exit were only half full. And don’t get me started on people that throw trash out of their car windows. That’s cause for some serious road rage. Or dog walkers that don’t clean up after their animals. Littering should be a weekend’s worth of jail time. Maybe that’s a little extreme…Nope. It’s not.
I just realized there’s a theme in these rants – manners. We’ve lost them somewhere along the way. I guess I lied. This was a long, rambling rant over the lack of manners in society today. I’m sure that the people who study these things can cite where and when the erosion of common courtesy started. It doesn’t matter. Getting them back should be the priority.
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Christopher Robin opens at the theater this weekend. I’m so excited! I can’t wait to see this movie and I don’t care how busy I am, I have to make time to go see this movie. Winnie the Pooh and friends are the best tonic after a tough week at work. You can’t not feel a little happier when spending a little time with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo and most importantly Eeyore. You never outgrow the gang in the 100 Acre Woods.
