Chicago, Chicago!!For the second day in a row, I find myself sad because of encounters that happened on the streets of Chicago. Yesterday, traffic on a major two-lane street was backed up for three blocks in one direction and two in another because a young man had chosen to stop his van – adjacent, by the way, to three empty parking places – in the middle of the westbound lane to unload a series of passengers and various bags of goods that they had purchased. It was not a quick series of actions. When a driver of a another vehicle asked politely that they park in the available space and thus allow traffic to move, the response from the driver was a very filthy series of expletives and the familiar middle-finger gesture. (The same gesture that hurt Bernice Clifton’s feelings.)
Eventually, I was able to get past so I have no idea of how long the congestion lasted. It made me sad to think that someone could be so selfish as to not care about the danger and inconvenience to others. And then could be so angry and abusive when questioned about his actions. (This, of course, feeds into my belief that you can only hear so much angry rap before it infiltrates your whole being. I don't think Beethoven does that. Tchaikowsky maybe, but certainly not Bach.)
Today, as I walked into my building, I saw a young woman park her vehicle in the middle of two parking spaces. Now, let me hasten to tell you that parking in my neighborhood after 5 p.m. on any day is like finding the golden egg. On Sundays, it is like hitting the Lotto. So, I said, “Miss, would you be so kind as to move either forward or back a few feet so that another car could get into the space as well?” I was greeted with the response, “Get Lost, Old Man!” (Well, at least there was no expletive as the other driver had received yesterday.)
Have we become so selfish that we only care for our own needs and nothing for the needs of others? I didn’t need the parking space – I was already safely ensconced in a precious space – but I have arrived home and been forced to spend an hour driving about hoping that someone would need to run to the grocery store for a late night of Rocky Road.
I even have the guilt that I have questioned my visiting child’s degree of upset stomach because it meant giving up a parking space to run to Walgreen’s. (I did go, by the way-so I am only partially callous.)
I have even considered a “handbill” campaign where I would get some flyers photocopied urging everyone to park responsibly and give more people a chance to find a spot. However, I worry that the flyers will wind up littering the street. I saw another driver park and dump two bags of McDonald’s debris onto the curb as she exited her vehicle. I bit my tongue.
We are an angry city. We are an angry nation! We are also a very selfish population!
I always remind my children that drivers in Chicago do not automatically stop for a red traffic signal – especially if they had planned to turn left. The light can change when they are mid-block, but the fact they intended to do a directional shift means “here I come, look out, I am in a turning frame of mind!”
I plan to quiz the Lincolnwood police. The area of Devon Avenue between McCormick and Lincoln Avenue is like the Indy 500. You couple the speed with the strange parking habits at the Devon Avenue USPS (Immigration Central) and you have a disaster waiting to be.
I was once at the post office when a large black Lincoln town car parked in a “no parking” zone in the front of the facility. The driver – a Catholic priest – emerged and wound up in front of me in the long line to mail a package. (My local USPS – the same one mentioned above – has 8 windows for customer service, but there is obviously some rule somewhere that only 2 can be opened during the high rush periods.)
“Father, why did you choose to park in a ‘no-parking’ zone in front of the post office?”
“I am Priest!!” He responded adamantly.
“Are you doing ‘priestly duties’ here in line for stamps? Is the Bishop out of Priority Mail Stickers?”
“I am Priest!!” again he spoke with great emphasis.
“Yes, I recognized your outfit. However, you are parked illegally. Will you do confession when you return to the Rectory? Who hears your confession? What about all the young children who saw you park illegally, who will explain to them why you chose to do that?”
“NEXT!” One of the two windows open had come available.
He rushed away.
The little Polish lady behind me held her parcel close to her chest as she said something that eluded my understanding, but I don’t think she approved of my bantering with the Man in Black. Since she was clutching her package so tightly, there was not a free hand for any angry gestures. I think that particular gesture is universal. However, I have not seen it anywhere else but in Italy. But, hey, you know the Italians!
How did this happen? How did we become so self-centered and uncaring for others? How did we assume rights that are clearly wrongs?
Morose Mitch is so worried that his wealthy Republicans will be taxed that he threatens that his party will not allow those who need tax relief to benefit unless all the tax cuts are extended. And yes, he said so without any hint of a smile. In a column in the NY Times, Paul Krugmann, the Nobel Laureate in Economics, cites rage among the rich. Krugmann states, “self-pity among the privileged has become acceptable, even fashionable.” (NYTimes, September 19, 2010)
The Tea Party is riding a series of election successes fueled upon anger. The Koch brothers are spending millions to defeat a clean-energy bill in California because it will impact their pocket book. Glenn Beck hosted a “Restoring Honor” gathering on the Mall in Washington, D.C. It was all about restoring the faith upon which our country was founded. Taking back America has serious overtones to me. I am not certain “my America” is anything at all like Glenn’s or Mama Grizzly’s.
All the conservativism reminded me of a discussion that I had with my father over “school prayer.”
Dad could not fathom that I was against school prayer in my son’s public school each day.
I reminded my father that when I was in school, my Principal was a deacon in our church. His wife, my seventh grade teacher, was also my Sunday School teacher. So if we prayed, it would be a prayer consistent with my family's beliefs. However, at the time of the school prayer issue, my son was in about the 5th grade. So I asked my father which prayer should he use?
His kindergarten teacher was Roman Catholic. His first-grade teacher was Indian, so probably Hindu. His second-grade teacher was a free-spirit and I doubted ever went to church. His third-grade teacher was a Presbyterian, so decidedly Calvinist. His fourth-grade teacher again was Roman Catholic. His current teacher was Jewish.
So, which prayer should my son pray when at school?
I explained to my Dad that I felt perfectly fine with my son's religious training taking place at home and church and his secular training at home and at public school. He could survive without a prayer while there. If he felt "outsecure" as he would put it, he could pray privately.
My father seemed to understand that we no longer lived in a “Mayberry” setting where everyone had the same background and practiced their beliefs in the same manner.
So Mr. Beck, which America do we restore? Ms. Palin, whose values do we go for? Tea Partiers, who will pay for the education of your children when your schools fold because you needed tax breaks?
In his book, The American Experience, Henry Bamford Parkes, remarks that our country survived because it existed as a “state of the mind” rather than an actual reality, in the thoughts of the early settlers. They had a dream of what this country could be and rather be crushed by the reality of what they encountered day by day, they held on fast to the dream. America for them was a state of mind, not a state of being.
What happened to “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses?”
The “state of the mind” of the early settlers and the sentiments found on the base of the Statue Of Liberty will do far more for this country than the crazy reality mentality of “me, mine, and ours” currently running rampant.
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