Insensitivity or plain indifference?

Of late, something very subtle yet deeply significant is taking place. The youth of today are forgetting the basic moral science lessons that they learn as children. Manners, courtesy and concern for fellow people are at danger of losing their very meanings due to the strange lack of sensitivity among a sizable section of youngsters. Perhaps, I may be a little wrong in attributing this to only the youth of today as no doubt some middle aged people are also falling prey. But in my opinion, it is the changing and increasingly urban lifestyle that is the catalyst driving this trend and youngsters get influenced more easily.

When one considers, how:

All the people want to get down of the bus (when it reaches its destination/stop) at the same time and nobody is in any mood to relent and give way to a fellow passenger. Waiting for a few seconds in anything that remotely resembles a queue leads to a barrage of complaints on the pathetic condition of the state’s facilities!! The old people and children suffer most as a result by getting pushed and jostled with least respect/concern.

People get impatient very easily on roads as they are being driven mad by the increasing traffic every day so much so that at times, they start honking a good half a minute before the signal turns green. The person at the head of the row is forced to violate the signal thanks to this supremely strange attempt at getting on one’s nerves!!

Hardly ever do people remember to say a “thank you”. The driver of an office shuttle in a very cautious manner gets a person to his/her destination. When the stop comes, all he gets in return for his patient maneuvering of traffic is a thud/bang of the door on his face.

Thanks to the omnipresent cell phones, people these days have the comfort of listening to their favorite music on the go. It takes a real marathon effort to get a few words by way of response/answer from such a person. One should consider oneself lucky if one gets any at all for the earphones rarely change their position. “Can you be a little louder?” is the standard response/expression. For God’s sake, one’s involuntary reaction is to close one’s ears for the poor indifferent chap is shouting thinking the other person to be deaf!!

Eye-contact is also becoming a rare norm. Instead people prefer having preoccupied expressions as if they are doing you a favor by listening to you. One gets the impression that they are indeed hard pressed for time!! Fiddling with mobiles, adjusting ear phones and checking messages are becoming the rule…

I left out washing dirty linen in public by talking private matters loudly over cell phones in public places!!

In summary, it would not be long before gentlemen and ladies would cease to walk this earth. Instead, it wouldn’t be surprising if all one finds are people with an inflated sense of self importance or plain indifference.