People Buckling Under the Pressures of Modern Life

         
 

   The signs are everywhere.  Drivers are irrationally passing one another, taking chances at having accidents, simply to be, perhaps, a second ahead of the person they passed.  Domestic violence is up, men against women, women against men, and worst of all, parents against children.  Some violence, on the part of the truly insane, is resulting in attacks such as the Colorado Theater Shooting.  More banks are getting armed security officers, not just to be a deterrent to robberies, but for protection against customers who are angry.  Parents at games played by their young children, are getting into heated arguments which have erupted into fist fights or worse.  More and more videos are surfacing of police in some places acting irrationally or inappropriately given the actions of the citizens around them.   Certainly, some human beings have always been irrational or angry in their dealings with the world, or with people they don't really know, but modern life seems to have enhanced the overreactions of many people.  Here on Earth, people are going to offend, and occasionally disrespect or even insult one another. When this happens, it says more about the unhappy times or poor upbringing of the person who is doing the offending, than it does about the person they disrespect.  It isn't necessary to overreact.  Most of the time, we can use our words, just as we teach our children, to let the person know that we think they should have behaved better.  I hold doors for anyone, male or female who has a package, a stroller, a cane or who or might have more trouble than I would opening an entry door to a store or something, than I would.  Most say" thank you", but the occasional one who does not, hears my "You're welcome", and realizes that I am commenting on their own lack of manners.   When it's a dangerous situation, such as road rage, we are told that avoiding eye contact and letting the irrational driver get away from you is best.  Unless of course, you are inclined to report their plate number along with the incident itself.
             Recently, the Fox affiliate in Richmond Virginia announced that we have a serial butt stabber here in Virginia.  A stocky Hispanic looking man has been slashing the buttocks of women at shopping malls with a box cutter since February.  As funny as that might, at first sound, and the female anchor in Richmond had a lot of trouble keeping her composure, this is quite serious, as it could cause anything from profuse bleeding to HIV-AIDS and Hepatitis.  Experts fear that this man's acting out could accelerate or expand.  This particular perversion has certainly heightened anxiety and fear among people in Virginia.

I am sure this was difficult to report with a straight face, but it's certainly serious.

            In many places there is much more racial tension than there used to be. The presidency of Barack Hussein Obama has been a far more divisive occurrance than I believe he ever intended.Some people have made the mistake that race is a part of the present president's ineptitude, when I don't believe his race has much to do with it, just as criticism of his policies has nothing to do with his race. Still, we are left with racial issues which were less obvious than they are presently, in many places.

( Photo: wespeaknews.com )

 

            I am not sure of all of the sociological reasons for all of this.  Most people feel more financially pressured than they did in perhaps the 1960s.  Electronic devices haven't really made lives simpler, they have enhanced our stress. The bombardment of news from media which is not accurate, and is highly spun can also be a stressor.   It's been thirty years since mothers were told they could work full time, give their children fabulous vacations and college educations, and be fulfilled mothers as well.  The results haven't been quite so stellar.  The day care raising of the generations since has not benefitted the parenting skills, decency, educations, politeness or much else of many of the children, and now adults who were raised there.   In church, they say that much of the public walks around thinking that God is not watching, and that this is one of the reasons people behave badly now.  Some of my friends think that allowing abortions also adversely impacted Americans reverence for life in general.  I don't know if this is true, or not.  I can tell you that other industrialized countries are noticing the same lack of regard for one another, at least to some degree. I know that on our last trip to London, we found people to be far more rude than we had ever noted before.
          As an individual and as families, about all we can do is see to it that we have adequate recreational and down time. We can see that we don't overextend ourselves and our families financially, and this alone can help avoid a lot of stress and outbursts.  We can't get help if our anger or rage exceeds our own management of it.  One thing is sure, the deterioration of American culture has begun and is well established. About all we can do, is hold ourselves separately and compassionately as others deconstruct.  There is only so much we can do to lend a helping hand.  Stay safe and try to enjoy your family life as best you can. Life is about to get a lot more like a science fiction film.