“…do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the signs?” Five Man Electrical Band
One of the first signs I was able to read was on the platform of the Philadelphia subway-elevated. “Public Expectoration Prohibited.” I had to ask my dad what it meant and wondered why it was a big deal. I found out soon enough. Standing at the open front window of the first car, one of my big thrills at that tender age, I was struck in the face by a gob of spittle that someone had launched into space, probably the driver from his compartment next to me. So much for signs.
Back then though, my perception was that most people tended to obey rules, posted and unposted, that promoted the general comfort and well being of the public. Today, not so much.
In the parking garage of my condo building there’s a wall lined with recycling bins. Signs posted above them specify which items should be deposited and which should not. Of course they always contain many forbidden items, but there’s not much room for them anyway since most of their space is taken up by empty cardboard boxes that are supposed to be broken down and stacked between them. This was generally not the case in this upscale condo complex when we first moved in, but scofflaws soon proliferated. Was it a coincidence there were more younger occupants moving in? Admittedly, Covid had brought increased volume of delivery containers. Still, no matter how many empty boxes you have, you can dispose of them properly.
If living in a building with hundreds of occupants, most of whom don’t know you, gives the rule breakers assurance they can act with impunity, they are correct.
Rules and signs have long been disregarded by some motorists, but now this is the norm. If you dare not drive ten to twenty miles per hour above the limit, you can expect cars to pass you on either side within a hair’s breadth of your front bumper. Without signaling. This could be partly the result of not reading the small print on side view mirrors, “objects are closer than they appear to be” or of drivers being on their phones, but somehow I sense it’s mainly due to an “I don’t give a sh…” attitude.
I’ve written in the past about the causes of the narcissism that plagues society. As a result of mass media and technology that reinforce our sense of being exceptional and permit us to act and speak anonymously, we increasingly experience a false sense that the world revolves around us. We can create a virtual idealized public persona without actually possessing the qualities we wish to project. More and more we feel we can ignore rules of decorum and behave in public as though it were our own personal space.
If you are like me, you are appalled and terrified by the crassness and rudeness that has permeated our culture, especially our politics. The success of Trump and politicians like him here and abroad is testimony to the fact that being rude, crude and selfish are completely acceptable to a huge portion of the citizenry. Not just acceptable, it has come to be considered normal, even by many in my generation who were reared to know better.
Our times are ominously reminiscent of the early 20th century when large technological change heralded massive social upheaval. The veneer of civility cracked open exposing the long festering rage of the suppressed masses. This led to anarchy, revolution, genocide and world wars.
Growing disregard for the common good and for mutual respect has contributed greatly to the deterioration of our culture. It supercharges the prejudice, unfairness and conflict we now see rising everywhere in the world. This sign of the times bodes poorly for our communal future. It warns that we should seriously re-evaluate and reset our behavior.
But who pays any attention to signs these days anyway?
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An Author's Inner Mind 