Tuesday, December 09, 2008

The Marks People Make on Others

What is the matter with us? Over the last few days I have thought about how different things are, compared to when I was younger. I just don't get us. What messages are we sending to other people? Here are three examples.

Teachers have sex with students.Ok. Teachers do drugs. Ok Teachers bring drugs to campus. Ok. The school district says it will send drug dogs to all the schools. Ok. Somehow I suspect that those teachers who have not been caught with drugs will find out when the dogs will be at their schools. Ok, so why announce this? Why not just surprise them? Hum...

The other day as I walked Daisy, I saw the painters and clean up crew working on a newly vacant unit of one of the townhouses. Then I noticed that this crew was bringing out a lot of junk that the tenents left. Not just garbage, but apparently things the renters no longer wanted. I can understand that maybe they no longer wanted some of these items. But isn't it their responsibility to clean up the place before they leave? I have always cleaned up any place where I lived. Even when I owned a house and moved to a different one, I made sure I left it clean. Now, I see people who move out of one place, load their trucks with what they do want and leave the rest. Maybe these people don't care about getting their deposit back? Or are they just lazy or careless?

Lastly I have seen more and more people becoming confrontational about things that could be handled better. If you have trouble with a company, you ask for help. If you don't get it, you to the supervisor or manager. Same thing with personal relationships, why jump into a big fight first? I see more and more people who, apparently, don't want to end things quietly. If you were in a relationship which did not work out, would you hold on to some personal items that did not belong to you? Would you do this for spite? Apparently some people do. And since when is it a good idea for parents to try to start a physical altercation with a grown child's former friend who just wants a couple of personal items back after the breakup?

Medical doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, part of which says "first do no harm..." . Oh, and let us remember "people who live in glass houses, should not throw stones". What happened to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". We are too quick to accuse or act like, who cares, it's not my problem. So many people don't think what they say or do can affect others. We adults are the role models for our society, despite what we make think. Somebody is always watching.

I think about how my parents treated me and the people they knew. They were classy people who would not treat people the way people do now. I'm glad I learned from them. Fairness, honor, respect for each other, even if you don't like each other. Don't see enough of that these days.

3 comments:

dmarks said...

I knew of a renter who took the toilets and doorknobs with him. It goes the other way too.

bettygram said...

My son left a broken chair in the cubby hole(not sure what to call it it is in the unfinished basement)that was left by the people before him. The new owners asked him to remove it. He did. My daughter left a brand new dehumitifier. It is needed in that apartment. I do agree that the house or apartment should be left clean.

cube said...

I remember back in 1968 when we
moved to Florida, my folks bought a house. Turns out the seller took even the lightbulbs!

I do agree with you about hearing about more and more incidents of people being less polite & less friendly, but I also see many who do hold on to the old values. I guess it makes a difference where you live.