Humbleness and Humility

There are 2 traits that I think are in high demand now-a-days, and seemingly low in quantity. The Christmas season is winding down, and those 2 traits tend to be apparent during the holidays. Humbleness and humility: ergo the title of this blog. It’s amazing to people watch during this time of year. I guess I’m going to step out of the political atmosphere for this one, so, I hope you enjoy what little I have to say about the things that follow, and I hope you can take it to heart.
This year was not unique to any other year, as the toys everyone wanted for their children flooded the shelves just in time for Christmas. I will tell you right now, I was standing in line a month ago for 8 hours waiting for my chance at a Nintendo Wii. Now, do I think that is ridiculous? Of course. 8 hours in line for a game system which will probably be ½ the price I paid for it in 6 months... yes, ridiculous, I know. Honestly, it was more for the fun aspect and social aspect then it was trying to be one of the rare Wii owners. I was able to meet some really cool people, and got to hang out with friends for 8 hours, and I had a blast (despite the 35 degree weather). But, I’m sure to the thousands of people that came in and out of Wal-Mart that day and saw the 18 people in line bundled up in coats and blankets, waiting for a game-system, they were probably thinking “you insane people!” That is consumerism at its best I suppose. And that’s all great. If you want to be like I was, crazy for about 8 to 10 hours, then go for it. It was fun.
Now, the fact that people want to stand in line for hours for a gaming system is not what amazes me. I think we should all be over the amazement factor of people doing crazy things to be apart of something big or buy something big. We see it every year. When certain movies come out, people stand in line, dressed full in costume for hours upon end to be the first ones to see the show. When a huge sporting event hits your city, people stand in line for hours upon end to be first in line to get a ticket. And when Christmas time is here and the newest, most technologically advanced gaming system is being released, people will stand in line for hours on end to try and make their child’s/sibling’s/friend’s Christmas even more special. But this is where it breaks down. It isn’t about making Christmas special anymore. It isn’t about doing nice things for people anymore. Christmas is becoming synonymous with the term consumerism. Same with Valentines Day, same with Halloween…pretty much every Holiday has a strong touch of consumerism to it. And honestly, that’s fine. That is America. We work for our money, and we should be able to spend our money as we want, and if that is on holidays for friends and family, that is great! But again, a break down occurs, and that is what this blog is about.
Imagine yourself in the following situation. You go to get in line at a store 10 hours before the release of the newest, hottest gaming system on the market. You want to make your son or daughter’s Christmas amazing this year, so you are going to splurge and are willing to spend the 600 bucks required to be a rare owner of this new gaming system. So, you get in line, and begin the long, drawn out wait. You brave the cold, you grab some hot chocolate, you make some new friends and chat about your families together. Eventually, the time draws near, and you begin to feel your toes again, as everyone is getting up and getting ready to enter the store. Suddenly, someone approaches the line from a car out in the parking lot, and walks up to a few people in front of you. Then, chaos ensues, as the new participant in the situation has pulled a gun and shot someone for their spot in line. Absolutely crazy right? Well, it happened, and more than once this year. Now, granted, the people who should be reading this probably aren’t and probably never will, but let’s bring it down a notch. As I stood in line this year at Mervyns, I got behind a couple, and as they began to process their transaction with the employee of Mervyns, something with the credit card machine began to confuse the woman who was purchasing some clothes. And oh yeah, she was lacking in her proficiency of English skills, which also became obvious after a few seconds. The employee was trying to show the woman she needed to re-swipe her credit card and resign the credit card screen. Honest mistake, right? Well, I could feel the awkwardness of the situation, but, it was an honest mistake. Now, did I want to stand in line for another 60 seconds while they figured out the problem? No, who does. But, it was a mistake, and the situation happened, and we had to deal with it. But, with the woman standing in line behind me, you could tell it was not okay. She began to mumble under her breath and her body language suggested a lack of patience for anything that was going to be annoying to her. After about a minute, they figured out the problem and the issue was resolved. I began to watch people as they interacted during the next few days, and it became apparent that there is a patience problem in America. Anything that stops us from hurrying up and moving on, we seem to be quick to anger.
Okay, so I just gave you one situation that no one would want to deal with, and most people would get irritated with, although I’m not sure why. It happened, and you deal with the situations you are put in every day. It’s called social interaction, and you deal with it. But it is apart of something else. That situation I described is part of something bigger that is very, very wrong in America. Call it lack of patience, call it whatever you like, but it is a prevailing attitude in our country, and for what? I’m talking about the American Dream (and I hate cliché terms, but they are used for a reason). Hurry up and wait. That seems to be the underlying theme for millions of Christmas shoppers. Where is the patience? Where is the gratitude? Where is the humbleness…the humility? Its becoming all about how much you can buy everyone, how much you got, how many stores you were able to get to in 1 day. You know what I think I hear more than anything around this time of year? Complaints about lines at stores, and traffic. Have we NOT learned that EVERY SINGLE YEAR, this WILL happen? Cars will try to make the red-light and get stuck in the intersection, blocking you from your green light. People will crowd and push to try to get the last item on the shelf and then crowd and push to try to get ahead of one more person in line. Airports will be delayed because of the surge in travelers and bad weather during, hello, WINTER. But just stop! Why are we so impatient with everything?
The American Dream sounds wonderful. If we really truly bought it and lived it. Why has rudeness and impatience and consumerism permeated every aspect of our lives? It’s great that so many people give to charities this time of year…but what about the other 11 months when the same people in need get forgotten? It’s wonderful family time is so important to so many people in December and around holidays, but how about the days in between? Maybe I just feel more aware during December and around the holidays, but it seems like we have become a culture of meanness, a culture of no patience, a culture of spite, a culture of us us us, we we we, me me me, and I I I. Maybe this is all a bit scattered, but hopefully my point is being made. There needs to be an awareness that arises, and soon. I want to see a nation of people that are kind to each other, that don’t cuss each other out when driving to the store and the traffic is bad, and that lets the mom with the 2 screaming kids cut in line, and that doesn’t have to be about what new car the family has, and that doesn’t care about the latest break up in Hollywood and what famous person is saying about the other famous person. I would like to see the American Dream that is nice and fluffy and what should be stood for and the American Dream that includes morals that includes patience, that includes kindness…an American Dream that exemplifies humbleness and humility, instead of the American Dream that will fall and if something isn’t changed, will be replaced with what seems to be all anyone is concerned with anymore: $$$. - AJW