Yesterday, I posted about the consideration, or lack
thereof, of people within amusement parks, particularly when it comes to slower
moving people. I hadn’t even mentioned
that there are also elderly people within these parks that need to be treated
respectfully and considered in their maneuvering through the parks. I mentioned a trip to Disney that my wife and
I took seven years ago and when we went, one of my theories had been the idea
of creating specific thoroughfares within the park for different speeds of
travel, sort of like what’s supposed to happen on our highways. The right lane is for slower moving traffic,
the middle lane is for traveling at a normal or moderate pace, and the left
lane is for faster travelers or those who are passing the ones in the middle or
right lane. Of course, we all know how
that doesn’t easily translate from paper to reality. Today, I want to talk about another thing to
consider, in amusement parks and in life: how we talk, how we act, and how we
dress.
If you want to see a great display of PDA (Public Display of
Affection) just go to an amusement park.
People somehow find that waiting in lines for rides somehow gives them
the freedom and right to engage in intimate activities with their significant
others. This hasn’t changed in
years. When I was a teenager, I remember
going to Action Park in New Jersey and experiencing the same thing, potentially
even partaking in this kind of behavior.
I’m not a psychologist, but I’ve studied emotional health
enough to know that there are certain things that indicate positive emotional
health and certain indicators of negative emotional health. There are limits to the amount of
affectionate behavior that are appropriate in public and when we need more, we
certainly have to ask ourselves about our own emotional health. Somehow or another, our culture has told us
that it is our right to do whatever it is that we want in public. To be prohibited from this kind of behavior
is to have our human rights taken away. This
kind of ideology has poisoned our culture, it has taken the focus off of “the
other” and put it squarely upon the individual.
I’m just not sure that behavior that should generally be reserved for
the privacy of a room with closed doors should be displayed for all the world
to see.
It’s not just behavior though, it’s the way that we talk and
the things that we wear. Many people
will respond with the fact that it’s their right to say, do, and wear whatever
it is that they want, but do we consider that there are people who just don’t
want to see or hear certain things when they go out in public. I’m not advocating the creation of “bubble
worlds” where reality is put on hold and we live in a dream world, but I am
advocating the idea of temperance. Just
because we have the “right” to do, say, and wear whatever it is we want to does
not mean that we always need to exercise that right. If I drive a Ferrari, it can go pretty fast,
if I see it as my right to push it to its limit, I take on certain risks that
are associated with that.
Just like traffic moving through amusement parks, our
wardrobe, language, and behavior need to be considered because everyone might
not want to experience these things. Of course,
we could go far to one side or another here, but walking in the middle ground
may be an alternative that allows for us to exercise our freedoms and “rights”
while still being considerate of those around us. If we choose to talk, dress, or act without
consideration for those around us, we can’t all of a sudden claim concern for
our fellow human beings when it becomes convenient for us. We need to be consistent here. It’s not a consideration of convenience, it’s
an unconditional consideration.
This is absolutely something that I need to consider myself
as well. I cannot claim concern for
those around me when it is convenient.
To be honest, part of our concern for those around us needs to be
selfless and there is a conflict between concern for others and concern for our
own rights. We really can’t have it both
ways. That’s the essence of healthy relationships,
they are full of give and take. If we
are simply concerned for ourselves and our own rights all the time, our
relationships will not be healthy, they will be selfish. If we show concern and care for those around
us, we will be less likely to be so self-consumed because we will have our eyes
fixed firmly on those around us.
Maybe I’m taking this too far, but I really think that it
comes down to consideration again. While
I may be criticized for a call to modesty in our dress, actions, and speech in
public, I still hold to the belief that we all need to be considerate. How do we talk, how do we dress, and how do
we act when we’re around others? Do we
temper our behavior or do we see it as our right to do whatever it is that we
want to do? Next time you’re out and
about in public, look at those around you and see what they do, then take a
look at yourself and ask whether or not you’re considering others or simply
considering yourself.
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