I woke up this morning in a pretty good mood. My life, though difficult right now, could be worse. I have my health, my family, and the immediate future is lined with possibilities. Yes, you could say I was feeling pretty hopeful. Then I came across these two news articles:
Grandfather Gets Life; Killed 6-Year-Old Over Watermelon
Cracker Barrel Beating May Be Hate Crime
What is it about the world right now that breeds such hatred and lack of civility in all of us? Can we blame the economy for this? Lately it seems that the news is filled with stories of parents committing infanticide, of racists committing hate crimes, of Kanye West dissing Taylor Swift? Perhaps we lack perspective. It's enough to make one lose hope. I was talking to a friend of mine who restated a lesson I had recently learned: If you expect from others what you expect of yourself you're going to be constantly disappointed to the brink of nihilism. However, is it too much to expect a bit of human decency from our brethren? I'm of the opinion that we all contain the capacity for both good and evil. It is the daily choices we make that determine the type of person we are. How hard is it to decide to let go of our fears and hate and then be free of our fears and hate?
Yes the world sucks right now. It's sucked before, and tomorrow it will probably still suck. We might not get the jobs we want, the other guy might get your girl, your sister might inherit the house instead of you. We are responsible for the choices we make and sometimes there's no excuse, tough childhood be damned. To the bigot at the Cracker Barrel and the murdering grandfather with a thing for watermelon I want to say this: there's no excuse. Your actions have consequences. In the future I hope you make a better choice. I hope, when pressed, we all do.
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