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| Rob's Soapbox | ||
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Congratulations!
You have finally landed on the one page on this entire site (and on the entire internet for that matter) that is purely without bullshit... my soapbox page. There are a lot of times during our show that, whether it's because of time constraints and other obligations, I don't always get to address some issues that I feel don't get the attention they deserve. There are even more times when I just don't feel like waiting until the show the next day to get some things off my chest. Thus, I have started the "Rob's Soapbox" page. If you have clicked on this page looking for someone to coddle your fragile sense of self-esteem, or tell you what you want to hear or to reinforce your outdated world view, then exit this page right now and go somewhere else. If you are in search of the last forum for reason and common sense left in the world, then sit back, relax, and enjoy. I make only one promise with this soapbox page... if you read long enough and often enough, you will eventually be offended. So here's my latest soapbox. Listen up, 'cause you just might learn something... |
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July 24th, 2006 SELFISHNESS VERSUS SELF-CENTEREDNESS It is no news flash to any loyal reader that I find today's America to be completely rude. The lack of personal self respect dictating proper treatment of others when in public is galling to me, especially since there is no end in sight. As a result of being on vacation a few weeks ago I was sadly forced to spend much more time in society running errands and interacting with the cretins that make up today's attempt at a culture. Thus, I was privy to a front row seat at the appalling level of self-centeredness permeating our society. I was also simultaneously struck by the irony of how we've made selfishness a bad thing yet hypocritically engage in self-centeredness en masse. Let's start with selfishness. No matter how hard the politically correct, emotionally driven crowd, try to change reality, they can't. They've changed the perception, but the truth is still the same: In our culture and our system, selfishness is not only good it's a necessity to thrive. Now, granted, most people in the P.C. movement don't believe in thriving to begin with. They want everyone to achieve the same level of success so that no one ever feels bad. That, in fact, is why they have worked so hard in the last 40 years to demonize those of us that are selfish. It is a long held truth of life that you simply cannot make anyone else happy unless you are first happy yourself. This idiom demands selfishness. Selfishness is also a necessity to getting ahead in our capitalist economic system. Again, the P.C. crowd is Socialist and wrongly believes that capitalism is responsible for everything bad that has ever happened anywhere, when the truth is the exact opposite. Fortunately the American system is stronger than the emotionally driven crowd and will be able to sustain the onslaught that tries so hard to make those of us who practice selfishness as a way of life look and feel bad. Selfishness is defined by Webster's as "…concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure or well-being." Imagine if you will for a moment if everyone practiced those principles as the driving force in our society. We would have a self sufficient society. If everyone would simply focus on their own jobs, responsibilities, and lives and keep their attentions diverted away from other peoples' job's responsibilities and lives we would have a far more productive and pleasant society to live in. Keep in mind that selfishness demands that you live up to what you expect of yourself first, so things like holding open the door for others and waving politely in traffic would not only not go extinct, they would be found at every turn. When people are selfish to their self respect, courtesy thrives. Instead, we have a culture that thrives off telling other people how to live (don't smoke, don't drink soda, don't spank your children, etc), rather than focusing on our own lives. Additionally, when someone in today's America does choose to be selfish and by result, achieves greatness he is often punished, maligned and called evil. Certainly there are exceptions, but those exceptions almost always involve pandering to the P.C. crowd. For example, don't think for a minute that Bill Gates would be as loved as he is if he wasn't running his foundation and literally giving billions of dollars per year to the "less fortunate." To the P.C. crowd, this is what's called "guilt money," that you should give back in retribution for all of the people you squashed on your way to the top. This is the vein in which the George Clooneys, Bonos, and Oprahs of the world are accepted and not branded as "selfish." Meanwhile, when someone chooses to help causes that are not politically correct or is simply more discreet about who and what he or she gives to, that person is instantly labeled as "selfish" (think; Rush Limbaugh, Tom Cruise, Charlton Heston, etc.) Being self-centered, meanwhile, is completely different than being selfish. Webster's says that someone who is self-centered is "…concerned solely with one's own desires, needs or interests… in disregard of others." That truly defines the America I see every day. Whether it is in grocery stores, on the road or in drive thru lanes, the preponderance of self-centeredness in society is staggering. While being forced to interact with society during my vacation I observed countless examples of people who are so self-involved and self-important that the world literally revolved only around their existence. More than once I went thru a fast food drive thru and watched in awe as the person in front of me got their food, pulled up barely a half car's length, and then sat there, blocking the ability of anyone behind them to get their food, while they got their food our of the bag to eat it. Once they had their burger in hand and their world was turning once again, they were happy to drive away, oblivious to the rest of us trying to fulfill our days. While at the grocery store I observed one person who left the checkout line while being checked out because she forgot to get an item. She walked away; leaving 3 customers behind her while the clerk rang up the remainder of her items. The customer returned minutes later, walking slowly back to the line, with no apology or acknowledgement of her rudeness. At least her world was turning again now that she has her jar of pickles. At Sam's warehouse store early in the morning there are always two and only two, checkout lines open, one of which is specifically for those of us who use those flat bed hand carts which are too big and bulky for a standard check out line. Since there are very few people in the store, one check out line for each type of cart is fully appropriate. It was lovely to watch someone with a normal cart obliviously walk right up to the flatbed line, but what was more fun was observing the true audacity of that same customer who refused to go to the proper line when the clerk explained to her that she was in the "flatbed only" checkout. Really. She refused. He even pointed to the sign and then to another customer and me, both of whom has flatbeds and were waiting to check-out and she was going to be damned if she walked 20 feet to her left to use the appropriate line. Her world was spinning, who cares about anyone else's. I'm sure I don't have to bother to point out the dozens of times I observed or encountered a rude, self involved moron going 55 in the fast lane of a freeway, or the multitude of moments when a total stranger could have held open the door for me and didn't even bother checking to see if anyone was behind them. The self centered crowd is taking over while those of us who are selfish are being driven away. Welcome to America, third in the world and falling fast.
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