The high-pitched screaming of my brakes echoes between the cars beside me. I lay on my horn, but the guy stares straight ahead on his way. No wave. No sign of apology. He just doesn't care. Apparently it's his road and I was in his way.
From my observations, it seems apparent that people are living their lives making sure they get what they want; nothing else matters. The welfare of others? F**k that. They're in it for themselves.
My parents always told me, "think of others before yourself, its better to give than receive" and other such lessons that seem nice and friendly. In sports, yes there was fierce competition to be the best, but they always preached that it was teams that won games not individuals; that kinship is what made all of the individuals of the team successful
Now after my first year of college, I'm beginning to see this cooperative behavior begin to melt away. I'm being told to specialize in a field so that I can compete with others for that perfect job. I need to compile a résumé that shows my superiority over others fighting for the same job. Apparently this selfishness for personal gain has disguised itself as "self-interest."
In America, our economy is set upon this whole basis of self-interest. You go to work and do your best. Teamwork is stated again and again but everyone has the same goal - to get to the top of that corporate ladder. People don't have dreams of other people around them benefiting from their work. People want that bigger paycheck, the nice house, the great car. We are told to think of others before yourself yet our whole way of life, career goals, etc are driven purely that driven by that entity in the driver's seat - selfishness.
As I wrote this, this image imprinted my mind so I felt compelled to restate what I saw.
The television couldn't make up its mind; CNN news hits the screen then flashed to MTV to -
"Well, what a surprise - television, again?"
- ABC's Grey's Anatomy, to ESPN's college football -
"We never go see the movies I want to see. We never go out where I want to go. You never do anything with me anymore!"
The television chooses Fox or perhaps just abandoned the search for further channels as it remains on stagnant channel.
"Do you even love me? Do you even care? Do -"
Fox dissipates as CNN returns.
Others scream at these "selfish" people and demand selfish actions. These hypocritical actions are rooted from this humanistic approach to life. Selfishness is stricken down from all corners of the map yet the ones screaming blasphemy are also the one harboring such feelings - letting it feed on their very souls. It would be quite a world if people weren't driven by this self-interest. Would it necessarily be for the better? For the worse? It's hard to say truthfully. Theoretically, altruism is the perfect plan; though we have learned that humans are far from perfect.
This wasn't written to make a point other than hopefully open up people's minds as well as my own. Self-interest seems synonymous to selfishness even though some others would disagree. Self-interest has persisted like the ebbing of the tide. Perhaps, this tide needs to change.
