La mia Scrittura

Recently, my boyfriend and I went to see a movie. Once the previews had ended and the lights had been completely shut off, I saw two girls come into the theater. I watched as they searched, practically blind, for a seat in a theater that was packed to the gills. I remember thinking, what happened to that man? The man who used to show you to your seat with a flashlight? The man that was polite enough to help you out, make sure you found a seat and weren’t hurt in the process.
It ended up being a great movie, great plot, great characters, excellent storyline. At the end of the movie, I was so touched, I wanted to get up and clap, a sort of standing ovation, if you will. I waited until the credits started rolling and just as I was about to gear up and give it my all, the lights went on and everyone started getting up. Suddenly, I thought to myself, when did this happen? When did we turn into these people? I started thinking about all the other things that have changed in our lives, things that have been pushed aside and forgotten.
I’ll give you another example. Halloween. When I was a kid, which wasn’t too long ago, I remember people gearing up for Halloween weeks and weeks in advance. Houses were decorated, candy was bought, people made an effort. Moms would stay home from work or come home early to prepare their children for the big night, the night they’d been waiting 365 days for. Candy would be served in class, it would be one day out of the whole year where classes were focused primarily on learning and teaching, and we could dress up and play games.
Today, it’s a whole different ball game. Not only does that not seem to happen in schools anymore, but teachers are serving healthy snacks and promoting active living on a day that should be reserved for witches and ghouls. Nowadays, moms are too busy with their work to come home early and help their children prepare for their special night. Kids are rushed into their costumes, rushed around the neighborhood and then sent home, where their parents go through their candy and pick out the ones rich with sugar. And don’t get me started on the neighborhoods. Since when did people decide that it wasn’t worth decorating anymore? That it wasn’t worth seeing the looks on the children’s faces when they came knocking at your door to say those three special words? Is it because now that you’re all grown up, you don’t care about what people did for you, you don’t care about giving back to your community?
During the Christmas season, there were coat checks, where you could put your coat while you shopped so you didn’t die of heat, and it was free. Now, you have to pay to have someone hold your coat. These days, the word free is a terrifying word. When you hear free, you think something is up, that there’s a catch. And more than likely, there is.
And Christmas! Oh, I’m sorry, I mean – the holidays. When in God’s name did that happen? Why did we have to abandon the name of our holiday? Because it’s politically incorrect? Who decided it was politically incorrect? Who decides what is offensive and what isn’t? Is it offensive because the Jewish celebrate Honnika and the Chinese celebrate The Chinese New Year? Well, as a catholic, I think it’s offensive that I have to stop using the name of my celebration because it is deemed “politically incorrect”.
Back when I was a kid, things were so much simpler. People were so much nicer. When you went into a store, you were greeted with a friendly smile; you knew the sales people were there to help you. If a sales person approached you, you didn’t look for the nearest exit, and they didn’t follow you around the store to ‘make sure they were there if you needed help’. People genuinely cared about whether or not your shopping experience was pleasant. Now, it’s all about making a quick buck. No one cares about your shopping experience, no one cares about your concerns. As long as millions of people are still shopping at their stores, they couldn’t care less about some Jack who wasn’t treated right. And sales people only care about themselves, and what they can get out of you. They don’t care if they sell you what you’re actually looking for, if the clothes look good or fit right, they just want to make the sale so they have a bigger paycheck at the end of the month.
When did we become these money hungry, anti-tradition, effortless people? When did we forget about the simplicities of life? When did life become so hectic? So boring?
Maybe it’s my age, maybe it’s just that I’m getting older and things are changing in perspective, but there are some things in life that you shouldn’t let go of. Things you shouldn’t take for granted. And I think these days all people care about are making money, making money and making more money. No one cares about tradition, no one cares about the children or the people you are paying for their services. Customers aren’t appreciated – we’re being treated like they’re doing us a favor.

Maybe that’s life. Maybe that’s the evolution of things. But I think it’s sad. Sad that things are the way they are, and sad at how fast it happened. To think about the fact that 10 years ago, people clapped in theaters and decked out for Halloween, I hate to think about what it will be like ten years from now. Will traditions like Halloween be completely forgotten?
What about the theaters? Will we even have people to take our tickets and direct us into which screening room we go to?

I hate to think about it, I hate to think about the type of people we will be by then. I hate to think about the things our children won’t have, what we had, just because people got lazy and greedy.