I saw a man in my neighborhood whose headlight was out today. It made me think of my dad and how much times have changed.
I didn’t stop to tell that man, and if I had, he’d probably looked at me like I was crazy. My dad would probably have pulled up to the stop sign, got out of his car, and told the man his left headlight was out. My dad would have thought it was a common courtesy, which he would have hoped someone would have done for him. But the times have changed.
But I still long for those lost moments, the values my mom and dad demonstrated through their attitudes, ethics, character, scruples, standards, and basic beliefs. Those values are still evident today, but you gotta look hard for them.
I realize you can’t go back to the good ol’ days, but shouldn’t we be able to bring some of the good ol’ days along with us?
I got the oil changed in my truck recently. While waiting for them to finish with my vehicle, another customer whose car was finished asked about the keys to his car. The young man who had serviced his car responded, “Yeah, they’re right over there,” pointing to a board where all the keys were hanging. The customer retrieved his keys and left. I’m old enough to remember when “yeah” was “yes sir,” and when pointing to where the keys were hanging would have been “let me get those for you.”
Then again, I grew up in a generation where the gas station attendant came out to pump your gas, clean your windshield, and check your oil and fluids and the air pressure in your tires. Service then is not service today. Respect and consideration are not respect and consideration today. They are virtually non-existent.
When did men, for example, go through a door before a lady? When did simple manners stop being a thing? When did a simple, sincere “thank you” or a respectful “yes sir” or “yes mam” go by the wayside? When did mutual respect for another person’s opinion suddenly become a mockery and demeaning pomposity? Civil conversations — whether at home, church, Main Street, and certainly Washington — are a thing of the past.
So it begs the question: Have the times changed, or have people changed? Or is it a little bit of both? Technology changes, media changes, industries change, opinions vary, and politics change, but when we wander aimlessly away from basic tenets and values, aren’t we wandering away from truth and principle? There are principles, and there are preferences. The principle should not change. Right? William Penn said, “Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.”
I understand Ecclesiastes says that there are times and seasons and, indeed, we live in precarious times.
Some things shouldn’t change. Respect and consideration are fundamental human values that we should use daily. After all, Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh) says, “A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.”
We do not have to participate in the chaos, turmoil, and disrespect around us, but we can choose to be civil and decent, respecting the people we encounter today. It’s your choice? What will you do?
Perhaps next time, I’ll let the man know his headlight is out.