Why is it So Hard to Be Polite?

Look at the above scene. One man opens the door for another person and that person comes through the door, grateful and presumably thankful for the kindness. Most, however, would not do that. They probably wouldn't even look them in the eye. This truly epitomizes the state of our incredibly rude society. I hate rude people. They're literally the most annoying things ever. 

Now, let me take the time with you to, I don't know, learn a basic life lesson that you should have learned from a very, very young age. However, being as many people have lacked proper parental guidance or were raised by genuinely shitty people, they haven't learned this. If you are one of these people, don't despair. There's still hope for you being as politeness is a lesson that even the stupidest among us can grasp. 

First of all, I want to ask you a very important question. Why? Why are you and others so rude? Perhaps your rudeness is a result of impatience. It would take too much energy to open the door or, God forbid have take a millisecond of your precious day. Perhaps you are so important that your needs trump all others. It's seriously not that hard to take five seconds of your day to open the door for someone or clean up after yourself at a table or actually wait in line instead of butting in front of someone. Or, it might take ten seconds to help someone who has fallen off of the ground and walk a little farther so that someone else can have a handicap. Seriously, so many people act like basic consideration is like sacrificing their whole life to altruism. It has never occurred to them that some people might actually appreciate living in a society where most people act like semi-decent human beings instead of rabid animals. 

Or, it might take, who knows a millisecond for you to take a second and truly, truly think of someone else. This is an even shorter period of time to do although it might cause further inconvenience to you. Maybe, you might decide, "I can turn my terrible music down just a little bit so a non-Directioner might  be able to enjoy her quiet time." Or, you know, "Hey, maybe I can scooch over on the bus so someone can sit next to me. Maybe I can give my seat to someone who needs it more." Or, even better, "Oh wait, I don't want to throw my bubble gum on the ground for someone to step on. It wouldn't be nice to ruin someone's nice UGGs because I'm too much of a lazy dumbass to take a few extra steps to the trash can!" Or, the most shocking thing of all, "Maybe I can actually return the wallet I found on the ground to the Lost and Found instead of taking it!"  

Maybe we can even take this a step further. Not only can we actively go out of our way not to be rude, but we can actually go out of our way to do nice things for people! Hurray!

I could go on in this in depth and the benefits of being polite to people but it should be fairly obvious. Being polite, in however small of a way, makes the world a better place and more of a pleasure to live in. It might benefit you to be a little bit nicer for your fellow human beings. 

For everyone who is actually a decent person already, thank you. You keep the world a better place and I appreciate your consideration for your fellow humans. 

Me with most people especially as they charged the pizza line for snacks during debate, snacks they were supposed to have already paid for. Not only did they butt me, but they didn't even pay for their pizza. Thanks for robbing me of the pizza I paid for, guys.