Hit By a Boat On Dry Land

The idea for this post came from a friend’s recounting of being hit by a boat while driving through town on her way home from work – many miles from the nearest body of water. It happened when she was driving behind a pickup truck with a boat on a trailer. The vehicle stopped suddenly in front of her, with no lights on the trailer, then proceeded to backup as she leaned on her horn and looked behind her to see if she could backup as well. Too late, the boat smashed into her vehicle, the propellor damaging the grill and hood. At this, the driver of the pickup came running up to her yelling at her for running into his boat.

Cooler heads prevailed after a brief confrontation, and the police were called to get a report filed. While waiting for the police, the pickup driver disappeared for a bit and by the time the officer arrived, one of the trailer lights was working – must have been magic. The officer listened to both parties tell their story and, in the end, issued a summons to the boat captain.

For regular readers, you know there’s more to this post than the above anecdote. My point in today’s post is that we are losing our grip on reality and civility at an alarming rate. It’s amazing how quickly this happened; or maybe the erosion has been so slow that it just seems that we got to this shameful point in the blink of an eye. So many people show absolutely no regard for others, accept no responsibility, and take no accountability for their actions. Shouldn’t be surprising to me though because when leaders set the example, the masses will eventually follow.

Another brief anecdote illustrating the point: my wife went to use the drive thru window at our local bank but a car was parked in the lane, with no one in it. Just then a young woman came out of the bank door. When my wife asked her why she parked in the drive-thru lane if she was going into the bank, the woman proceeded to curse at her and ask what her problem was. Excuse me, what!?

I fear that many of you reading this have similar stories of people in the wrong lashing out at those whom they’ve wronged, and I hope none of you have been the wrong-doer in any such incident. When did society come to this and how did we get here? Fear not, I am not going to delve into that as it would require at least a few PhD theses to cover.

Even more alarming than this loss of civility and respect for each other is the trend by many individuals and groups to cancel or ban things they don’t agree with. It used to be enough to simply not participate in something if it went against your beliefs, taste, or preference. Now though, it has become fashionable, perhaps due to the power of the internet to allow individuals and groups to attack others from a safe distance (Mom & Dad’s basement?) or with anonymity. This has led to book-banning, out of state entities getting people fired from jobs, absurd executive orders and laws (hello Florida and Texas, and…), and occasional violence. And more often than not, these acts are couched in double-speak purporting to stop exactly what the perpetrators are doing.

I’m writing this on July 4th, Independence Day, and the irony is almost too strong. It is a reminder of how far and how quickly society shifts due to complacency. Complacency for our democratic system, complacency for each other, complacency that becomes entitlement. My call to action is to re-engage: step away from your phone and be part of the world around you. We are all in this together and we need each other in order for our society to prosper and grow. It’s not about “me”, it’s about “US”. Divided and self-absorbed we weaken the fabric that is our society; together we strengthen that fabric and allow US to grow.

Addendum: A few days ago while riding my bike through our neighborhood a car came whipping around a corner at me, doing well over the speed limit. I yelled “slow down”, no other words, or gestures, and then heard a long string of expletives directed at me by the driver as he sped away (actually amusing thanks to the Doppler effect). A few minutes later and a few blocks away, the same car came speeding towards me and swerved purposely to crush a couple of innocent garbage cans on his side of the street. I guess he thought it was a message to me? What the hell is wrong with people?!

www.RetiredandInspiredat55.com 7-11-2022