Dis-Courtesy

Yesterday at the grocery store when I came out to my car the person next to me had parked so crooked in the space that there was less than six inches to open my car door. Anyone who has seen my butt knows it takes more than six inches for me to get into my car. With no idea how long the person would be in the store and my ice cream melting, I used some yoga moves and contortions worthy of a Cirque du Soleil performer and got into my car but it wasn't fun and it really wasn't pretty. But ass and ego aside, it was infuriating because someone cared so little about others and so much about themselves that the three seconds it would have taken for them to park correctly was less important than their need to get into the store quickly.

What gives a person the sense of entitlement that it's okay for them to do things like that? Why do some people feel that they are more important than the rest of us? We have all had it happen. Like the guy who, even though it was clearly marked two miles back and with orange safety cones for the last mile that the lane was going to end, who drives it to the last possible second and then expects to merge even though the rest of us got over when we were supposed to. Or the woman who, even though you have been waiting in line for twenty minutes in front of her, runs to the next check stand when it opens instead of waiting patiently for her turn. What arrogance and conceit to believe that you are the important one.

Courtesy isn't that hard. But it's so rare these days that it seems monumental. People have been surprised when my brother held a door for them. A couple thanked me profusely when I helped an elderly man down a couple of stairs. Other drivers are amazed when we let them merge in front of us. Why? It takes so little effort to consider someone else and yet it's so hard to find.

Let's have one day where we put other peoples needs at least equal to our own. Where we use our turn signals and don't run red lights. Where we park correctly in spaces. Where we allow someone to go in front of us. Where we thank the people who help us. I know, it's a radical idea. Manners might make a comeback. I know it's a crazy idea, but it's worth a try.