Have you noticed that acts of incivility are clearly increasing? Have you also noticed that patience, politeness and kindness have disappeared in recent months? Have you noticed the significant decline in the quality of customer service, impatience while driving, cut queues, selfishness in supermarkets, indifference in parking lots, etc.?
There was a time when we said hello when entering the elevator, thanked the cashiers, used our turn signals to signal a lane change, not to show any vulnerability to exploit. There was a time when we threw our waste in the trash, waited our turn and gave up our place on the subway or bus to elderly people or pregnant women. We distinguished ourselves by our civic-mindedness, our kindness and our politeness.
Unfortunately, those days are over. Since the end of the pandemic, many people have changed. They now consider that their time, their rights, their opinions and their comfort are their only priorities. They will no longer compromise and will not hesitate to express what they think loudly and clearly, regardless of the consequences.
- Listen to the political meeting with Yasmine Abdelfadel and Marc-André Leclerc via QUB :
And there are consequences
The resignation of Mayor Belisle is an example. Our politicians suffer the consequences of this generalized incivility on a daily basis. They are insulted, harassed, singled out. They are openly treated as incompetent, corrupt, dishonest, while expecting them to be better, more efficient, more efficient.
Bullying in schools is another example. How can we expect a child to respect the rules, his peers and authority, when he sees his parents insulting, giving the finger, turning around in front of the school despite the ban? and question the competence of her teacher because of the grade given to their offspring?
The example not to follow
We don’t set an example for our children and expect them to do better. We do not respect our elected officials and we hope that they are competent. Incivility shocks us even as we participate in it, even unconsciously. Because as long as we participate in this escalation of tensions, we are collectively heading towards our doom. As a people, as a society and ultimately as individuals.