Civility is Dead. Good Effin' Riddance.

As the decades pass it becomes clear that some things have become obsolete; the telegraph, cursive, bell bottoms, and the VCR come to mind. But concepts have their day as well. For instance, we no longer find it necessary to treat women like delicate flowers, and chivalry, by and large, has gone away. Only a few old school types even miss it. The men glad to be done with trying to protect their woman and women glad to not be bossed around anymore. Civility is another idea that has bitten the dust, died a largely anonymous death. And, I say, "Big (expletive) Deal". I don't have the time to mourn it's loss, nor the inclination.

     This is the digital age, we don't have time to slow down for manners, we're going a million miles and hour with our hair on fire. Common decency is a time waster as well; who needs it? We are important, people care (or should care) what we think, we no longer have to get along with people we don't like, or don't have anything in common with.We are out there doing and buying and being individuals and being fabulous. We don't have to communicate with anyone we don't want to, we can "unfriend" people that we don't like. We can even pick the news we like, Rush or Keith? Don't worry about it, we got you covered.
     Politics. That's one area we really don't need civility. WE are right and they aren't. It's that simple. To be civil with each other we have to have some semblance of empathy, and that doesn't work for us. We have rights, uncivil rights, we don't have to give their stupid ideas any credence. President Obama is Hitler. Tea Partiers are Nazi's. President Bush is Hitler. Hey, It's your opinion; and we're entitled to express them. That's they way things should be, we have the right, nay, the obligation, to call each other Nazi's. It's the 59th amendment, I'm pretty sure.
     While politics is the the most obvious example of uncivil behavior, it certainly does not have the exclusive rights. The entertainment industry reeks of it. You have the aforementioned talk show hosts that almost exclusively say incendiary things. Rush tells you that everybody liberal is evil, and Keith Olbermann tells us that whoever he doesn't agree with is the worst person in the world. In sports, Jim Rome tells us women basketball players are horses or has a field day when Curtis Martin objects to his negative "takes". Excluding Mike and Mike, ESPN is filled with smug anchors who belittle most everyone, "wearing jean shorts means you're stupid", or telling everyone they "don't get it". Guess what? IT SELLS! They are all at the top of their fields, they have tons of imitators running around.

     Us lowly non-famous people are into it as well. If some guy is driving like an idiot and you try to get around him, and he takes offense to that, he is well within his uncivil rights to threaten to pull a gun on you. Bully for him. We don't have to be decent to each other. That waitress that forgot your coffee? She is a stupid cow. You don't have to get along with your wife, if they can't deal with it you can get another. On the whole it takes too much time to be pleasant, we shouldn't even bother. Say what you want to say, do what you want, if someone gets in your way, demand your respect. Take what's yours, and who cares what anyone else thinks. It's your world, don't let anyone tell you different.