There are many things that rouse my ire. Mostly, they stem
from other people. In fact, the only thing that annoys me beyond belief that is
not caused by a fellow human being is when inanimate objects start misbehaving –
it usually happens when you are in a rush, or already cheesed off with
something else. It is at times like that when I feel like the entire universe
is against me, but that just shows how little I comprehend the size of the
universe.
I digress. I want to discuss consideration, kindness, and
awareness of your surroundings. I was recently involved in a discussion regarding
an inconsiderate commuter who kept his large rucksack on his back when standing
on a packed train. He was also oblivious to the fact that his luggage was
taking up extra space behind him, and as an extension of his body it would
attack other commuters with every move he made. This is an example of a
fundamental lack of awareness, and no consideration for others. Personally, I
find this intolerable. If you consider only yourself, then who should think about you?
Maybe on a good day, I wouldn’t care as much – I have been
led to believe that I am quite laid-back, sometimes with vexatious effects for
those around me – but the fact remains that when you are living on a planet
that is as overpopulated as ours is today, you really need to think about how
you impact other people’s lives. The small things count just as much as the big
things, and knocking your selfishly-placed belongings into other people
unnecessarily is not the best way to progress.
Dog eat dog, look after number one, etc. I have heard these
many times before, and it appears that this is the credos of the masses. The
main problem I see with it is that someone has to lose. Often it is more than
one person that suffers, when a singular being cares only for the self. But
that focusses on purposeful greed and carelessness, which really is a topic for
a slightly different discussion. I just wanted to point out that it doesn’t fit
in with consideration and kindness.
I think part of the problem is thought, and this can branch
off to the lack of thought (choosing not to think) or conversely, the inability
to think (stupidity). For the first, we can lay the majority of the blame on
the subject, although it could be argued that they will only have learned this
from others, their environment, role models and so forth. Whereas that might
have some truth, we all have the ability to choose, whether it was a divine
gift or not. I doubt that choosing not to consider others was part of the plan,
but I am the wrong person to ruminate on that. The latter is a disease that is
crippling the human gene pool. Stupidity is rife in every city and town across
the planet. We, as a race, are increasingly half-witted – there are some very
intelligent people about, but they are hugely outweighed by the dense and the
doltish. So who do we blame for these inept fools that don’t realise they are
stupid?
I am not the [proven] most intelligent man in the world. There
are some people out there that know more than I do on a wide range of subjects,
I acquiesce. However, I simply cannot tolerate stupid people that are unaware
of their own stupidity. Anton Szandor LaVey said: “It’s too bad stupidity isn’t
painful. Ignorance is one thing, but our society thrives increasingly on
stupidity. It depends on people going along with whatever they are told. The
media promotes a cultivated stupidity as a posture that is not only acceptable
but laudable.”
I couldn’t agree more.
