Barnyard Animals

This week the FAA imposed up to a $37,000 fine for airline passengers who are unruly on flights. How did we get to the point where a federal agency has to threaten people to get them to behave in a civil manner?

My grandmother would have said they were “raised in a barn.” Unfortunately, we’re now living among a lot of barnyard animals disguised as human beings.

We’ve recognized the “Me Too” movement. But have we recognized the effect that the “Me” generation has had on our society? It goes way beyond endless selfies and not returning shopping carts to the stall.

The “it’s all about me” disregard for anyone else is the same behavior that now manifests itself in people refusing to get vaccinated against a global pandemic that has killed millions, not accepting the results of a clearly decided election and being so entrenched in their own ignorance and racism that they are willing to participate in an insurrection to overthrow our government based on a lie.

The reason we no longer have to fear polio or small pox is because previous generations believed scientists and medical professionals, experts in their fields, who developed life-saving vaccines in short order, just like they did with the COVID vaccine. Our grandparents accepted their communal responsibility, not only to save themselves, but also to protect their neighbors and they got those vaccines without a second thought.

I smile when I see the “Ancestry” commercial where the young woman marvels at her relative who signed up to serve in WWII at the age of 17. She has no idea that everyone of that generation served the war effort in some capacity, from those who fought in combat to the women who worked in the factories building ships and planes. It wasn’t a question. Even for those, who like my father, had to fight to be accepted because of the color of their skin.

I shudder to think what would happen if we were in such a global conflict now. Would people step up to fight fascism or retreat to their comfortable lives and say “not my problem?” Unfortunately, we don’t have to look far for that answer and it’s not a pretty one.

The corona virus is our WWII and those who aren’t getting vaccinated are worse than anyone who didn’t participate in the war effort. That generation was asked to put their lives on the line. All that’s being asked today is to take a damn shot.

And those who currently support efforts to suppress voting rights, along with those who blithely go about their lives not paying any attention to what’s going on, are just as guilty. In case you hadn’t noticed, we are in a fight against autocracy just as surely as if there were bombs falling on our cities. As the meme goes, if you ever wondered what you would have done during Hitler’s rise to power, you’re doing it now.

You don’t hear many people right now bragging that they watch FOX news. They don’t want to admit that they support a network that allows Tucker Carlson to travel to Hungary to put the autocratic regime of Viktor Orban on a pedestal and praise that country’s anti-democratic model as one the United States should emulate. Crickets on the right.

So maybe it’s time to look in the mirror and ask yourself if you’re too full of “yourself” and if perhaps you should start thinking a bit more about your fellow human beings. Those of us who have been doing that all along are ready to welcome you back to the species.