Humanitarian Hope

Hello and welcome back. I took an unannounced week long sabbatical of blogging last week simply because I was working on other projects and my work schedule (I do need to pay my bills) as always has been not just hectic but chaotic as well. Speaking of the insanity of my jobs, I am going to be extremely honest here and tell all of you right now, I almost quit my jobs last week. I know to some of you this is going to come as a shock simply because those closes to me know how much I enjoy my work and have no problem with putting in extra hours when needed to.

Whoops, got a bit sidetracked there.

Let’s just say it was a pretty rough week for me but I made it through the trials with little damage. (Physical damage, I’ll be emotionally scarred for years to come.) So, work was tough (what else is new), but I’m sure that is a song that has been played so much the record is broken. What else happened? Hmm… well, I came to a stunning and amazing realization that in my part time job as well as my full time job people are rude, crass, arrogant, impolite and generally speaking idiots (Not you guys, I’m talking about the people who are not reading this. I love each and every one of you and I think you are all amazing!)

Nope, I’m talking about the people who come into the Museum and let their kids run wild, beat on things, tear things up, stesl parts of exhibits, place their kids over an OBVIOUS barricade just so they can get a closer look at something and then act surprised when the kid breaks part of the exhibit. People who, when waiting in a queue line demand front of line privileges for no apparent reason other than the fact they are tired and have a self righteous sense of importance. People who never take responsibility for their actions or inactions, the same people who demand they are entitled to have everything given to them because they are breathing the same air as you.

Of course these are the same people I have to serve food to later in the day. The people who ask for a medium rare steak and send it back to the kitchen saying it’s not cooked enough and when the chef cooks it to a medium they send it back saying it’s too well done. These are People who order me to get them more food while they still have a plate full in front of them and a mouth full of food as they speak, spewing the contents all over the table and expect me to clean it up for them right then. The same folks who only order drinks with free refills and demand fresh glasses of drinks when they backwash the contents of their un-swallowed food into the previous glass. The kind and gentle customers who order extra rolls to take home with them and are quick to complain about you or the food if they don’t get everything they feel they deserve. You know the folks who order water and a BOWL of lemons and then use all the sugar on the table to make a glass of lemonade and get pissed at you when you charge them for it.

It is these self righteous, ignorant, barely literate Americans that have pushed me to my limits. Not the people I work with. Not the insanity of my work schedule. Not the rigorous physical and mental demands on my mind and body. Nope, it’s the public as a whole that has driven me to want to throw in the towel and Go Galt. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. I won’t. And most importantly, right now at least, I can’t.

You see, I have still have hope. Hope in not just Americans but humanity across the globe. I believe, truly BELIEVE, that there is good in all of us and that one day, a day a long ways off. A day so far in the tunnel of the future that there isn’t even a glimmer of it yet, that people will actually become decent, caring, giving, helpful, responsible, respectful and understanding of each other. Wars will be stopped, Peace will reign and all will not be lost. Call me a dreamer, call me naïve, call me a romantic, call me what you will. But right now, I still believe. Even after the craptastic week I had.

I think out there, somewhere, someone(s) have answers and solutions to how to fix the disease of idiocracy that has been coursing through the veins of not just Americans but the entire world populace for so long. I don’t think that solution is going to be an over the counter pill either. I don’t know what it will be or how it will take root in a person who has been taught from a young age that they deserve everything they can get their hands on or that their eyes see and their brain tells them they need. Nope, it is going to have to start small, one person doing one thing for someone else with no expectations of receiving anything in return (Like I said, I’m a dreamer).

No, I’m not talking about random acts of kindness… I’m talking about practicing humanity. Implementing common courtesy and understanding that some folks have bad days. (Like not getting pissed off when someone cuts you off in traffic or comes to a complete stop on the interstate for no apparent reason.) I think what I’m talking about is self control. I know, I know, I’m not one to talk about this stuff too much. Heck, I need to work on my self control skills just as much as everyone else does. And, maybe, just maybe, by writing this down it will help me keep my wits about me when next I get angry, upset, pissed off or just plain fed up. Maybe I won’t blow my top. Maybe I’ll remember what I’ve written here and be able to hold on to the humanity that I’m striving to find not just inside of myself but inside everyone I come into contact with.

Ok, I am going to wrap this up with a simple pledge to myself: I pledge to try and find the humanness inside the folks I come into contact with this week. I will strive to make myself a little more understanding to what others are going through and not expect anything in return. (Pray for me cause I’m gonna need it on this one folks.)

Have a great week.