It’s Christmas, But Are We All Failing Life Miserably?

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Evelina and I love Christmas.  This time of year we usually plan a lot of activities involving Christmas by visiting McAdenville (Google it), Christmas shopping in the hustle-n-bustle, tree lighting services, parades…you get the point.

This past week we visited the Christmas Village in downtown Charlotte to see the tree lighting and to shop the vendors for special gifts.  And of course I did my usual which is watch people and their behaviors.  I don’t know why I do this, but I simply cannot escape it.

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There were a lot of people and the area for the village was packed, often times leaving little room if any to walk or maneuver from one vendor to another.  We spent much of our time saying “excuse me” or “I apologize” as we bumped our way through the crowd.  What surprised me (not really) was the fact that we did not get one single return courtesy from another person there and we were bumped into, run into, pushed past many times; too many to count actually.

It is no secret that I really don’t like crowds and maybe I am hypersensitive because of this fact, but I don’t think it should be okay to be discourteous.  At one point I positioned myself in an area away from the crowd so I could watch people to see how many apologized or excused themselves when they pushed their way through other people and not one time did anyone say anything.  One instance resulted in a lady having half of her hot chocolate spilled and the offender just kept on walking.

It is becoming evident to me that we’ve failed (or are failing).  I see this occurrence too often and it seems to be the norm in today’s world.  Every time I watch people’s behavior I feel myself becoming so negative.  I feel negative writing this post as a matter of fact.  But I don’t think this topic should be ignored simply because I don’t want to be negative.  It is my belief that the smart device and social media are behind this growing trend.

Society as a whole has become addicted to their devices and because of this addiction the world around us becomes invisible.  We forget that this thing around us is a live, breathing, actual place which depends on real, live interactions with real, live people.  It is not uncommon for a drug addict to steal from family, the same family that loves them.  The addict becomes so focused on his or her next fix that the only thing that matters is getting that fix and everyone else becomes irrelevant.

I tend to be a bit pessimistic and possibly a touch judgmental and I admit to being so.

But I still think we are failing.

Danny

48 thoughts on “It’s Christmas, But Are We All Failing Life Miserably?”

  2. I’m still pleased, when we venture into the village, to see that almost no one is sitting in “The Feed Bag” or wandering the streets with phones in hand. And to bump into someone without saying “Excuse me” or “I’m sorry” would be unthinkable. Perhaps that’s why I hate cities so much and love our tiny town.

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  5. I totally believe your observations. I’m more than aware of such trends.
    Here, on WordPress, I often see people explicitly talk about avoiding the negative. I’ve also been told that my blog has too much negativity at times. But I write about such things exactly for the reason you stated – to start a conversation in hopes this gets addressed. Focusing on the positive is nice and dandy, but it’s also the easy way out sometimes.

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  10. Danny, I don’t call this post being negative but more like being realistic. I was taught a long time ago to be courteous to people and although I sometimes become discouraged by people’s nasty behaviors, I still uphold the manners I was taught as a child. And every once in a while, I get a thank you or a smile.

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    • I appreciate you view. I guess I get so tired of seeing so much self-focused behavior and once I’ve noticed it I cannot stop noticing it. Then I notice it everywhere and so often that it begins to have an impact on how I view humanity. It doesn’t feel good.

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      • You’re definitely not alone! I despise the self-absorbed mentality, especially when it comes to people walking down the street with their heads down, looking like the Pied Piper is leading them somewhere.

        News flash: Most likely whatever you are talking about ain’t that important!

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  11. I missread “We forget that this thing around us is a live……” as “a hive”, and really, that is what it is. We are all dependent upon one another, whether we like it or not. We cannot exist in a vacuum, even if we were to live off grid. Great post!

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  13. I get it. I don’t even want to go to these things sometimes. I do it for my son mostly. He is pretty well mannered, says please, thank you, excuse me. You have to tell them when they’re young.

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    • I think “parenting” is different these days. The kids who grew up in the generation of everyone gets a trophy are now having kids of their own. I hope they learned to raise them differently. I also hope society realizes the smart phone is harmful to our health, creates addiction and is not to be used by teenagers except in moderation.

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  14. Most people around here are pretty courteous. The other day, I was behind a woman struggling to pull a shopping cart up some stairs because the escalator was broken. Before I could do anything, an couple of young guys stepped past me, took her cart and carried to the top for her. She thanked them profusely, and they smiled and went off. That’s pretty typical for my neck of the woods:-)

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  16. Pingback: Tuesday’s Reblog: It’s Christmas, But Are We All Failing Life Miserably? — Dream Big, Dream Often | Riverside Peace

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  20. I have to get into the Zone myself to deal with all the people. It truly is. The world is not evolving.I still enjoy the Christmas hustle and bustle for some reason. I like the feeling the season gives me, but I have to ignore the people in order to do so. don’t even want to go to these things sometimes. I do it for my son mostly.

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