Sometimes the world as a whole really makes me sick to my stomach. I wish I could sit down and write a manual for how to be a decent person. Maybe then I could inspire the masses to reassess their lifestyle so that selfish,ignorant people would get a clue. Even in a situation as simple as retail, we have examples. Let's take a look at a few, get an idea of what we're working with:

First, we have a customer who needs to get from the front of the drugstore to the pharmacy. She approaches an aisle, but sees an employee there with merchandise all lined up on the floor, following a diagram of how to re-organize the aisle. The employee is obviously very busy and focused on his task, and from the looks of it, he's gone to a lot of trouble to organize the products on the floor so thatit's easier for him to do his job efficiently. The customer thinks to herself, "Well, I need to cut through one of these aisles to get to the pharmacy….and this one looks just as good as the next!" and here she comes. And as she tries to step over all the products he's so diligently set up in rows, she knocks over at least a quarter of them, bumps into another shelf in her attempt to squeeze past him, knocks down a row of products there, and then continues on along her merry way without so much as an "excuse me." Would it have really been that difficult to have rerouted to a different aisle? Courtesy.

Now, we have a man who has found a product he likes, but isn't sure what the price is. As he approaches the front of the store, he sees a line of customers waiting patiently to be checked out at the register. "I could stand in line and wait my turn," he thinks, but decides instead to walk directly up alongside the customer being rung up and rudely ask the cashier, "Can you check the price on this for me?" Patience.

Next, we have a gentleman who stops by his local bank to cash his paycheck. He approaches the teller and explains what he needs. However, when asked for identification, he becomes belligerent and insulting and raises his voice, shouting, "I've been a customer here since 1974! Everyone here knows me! Are you new?!" Because obviously this man is a local celebrity! How could this incompetent bank teller not know who he is! And how dare she ask for identification when handing over hundreds of dollars in cash! Understanding.

And how about this scenario: a woman takes her son and his girlfriend out for dinner to a local burger joint. Upon being seated, she informs the server that this particular table is drafty and that she would like to sit somewhere warmer.In an effortto be understanding, the server seats her elsewhere. "Oh, but the music here is so loud! Can you ask someone to turn it down a bit?" Obliging the woman, the server retreats to the kitchen where he quickly locates the volume knob and turns the music down. He does hope to be tipped, you see….he makes less than minimum wage and relies on those tips to help him pay for his car insurance and gas to get to and from school. Upon finishing her meal, the customer asks to see the manager and explains that her food was cold and not to her satisfaction. She demands a discount. The manager, of course, takes a substantial amount off of her check and she leaves satisfied. The server returns to the table to clear the dishes and finds no tip. Caring.

Traits like "conscientious," "courteous," "caring," "appreciative," "understanding," "patient," "kind"….they've all kind of lost their glamour lately haven't they? Nowdays it's much more provocative to be daring, aggressive, dominant, assertive. What happened to "I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine?" Looking out for someone else and trusting that they'll do the same for you? Manners.They just don'tseem to exist anymore, do they? Now we're brought up knowing that we need to "look out for #1," to step on whoever gets in the way of whatwe want, find loopholes, manipulate and dominate. We've evolved into a society obsessed with entitlement.You deserve this! But whatever happend to earning something? Working hard and doing the right thing? Bah, but the rules don't apply to you! You're special!

Entitlement will inevitably be the downfall of our society. We think we're evolving, but all I see when I look around is a primitive, dog-eat-dog, backward hierarchy. Everyone thinks the world owes them something, and they intend to collect that debt. Be it in the form of rape, gun violence, road rage, bullying, abuse, theft, murder….by any means necessary, right? What kind of world are weleavingour children? Our grandchildren? How much longer until our society implodes and we all go out in a blaze of unnecessary violence and anarchy? Makes me sick to think about it. How bout you?