I'm unsure as to why I'm always stunned by vitriol. By the human capacity for meanness. We are a selfish species, driven by material wants and personal vendetta, jealous and schadenfreude-ian. Right? This becomes obvious during the holiday season, when people are trampled for a $40 dollar digital frame and yet homeless shelters and soup kitchens are hard up for donations. People drive like maniacs, fight over parking, yell at the Best Buy clerk, under-tip their waiters, and encourage their children to act like greedy little pigs. God bless us, every one!
Let's try something new. It's controversial, but go with me on this. Say "thank you" to the Best Buy clerk. Tip your waiter 40 percent. Pay for the coffee of the person behind you in line, like these people did. Let someone merge onto the freeway in front of you instead of gunning the gas to get to the mall first. Spend time at home with your kids, playing with all of last year's toys before they get tossed aside. Put on some cheesy Christmas music and dance around your living room (maybe with some spiked egg nog.) Be thankful that you have friends and family to buy presents for at all, even if you don't like all of them. Go check out the giant Christmas tree in Union Square (but take public transportation.) Volunteer. Smile. Breathe.
Not everything is an exercise in Darwinian selection. You getting that last iPod Touch is not because you deserve it--it's probably because you elbowed that little old lady on the way in. So pick her up off the ground and and apologize.
Originally written 12.07
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