Common Courtesy on the Road to Tartarus
Todd Schwartz’s “America Jerk” and Martin Gottfried’s “Rambos of the Road” both discuss behavioral issues in today’s culture. From annoying cellphone ringtones to getting elbowed off the highway, these two essays are the epitome of rudeness. “Civility is dead, jerks” (Schwartz 55). “Rambos of the Road” is about people’s rude and reckless actions on the road while “American Jerk” talks about the actions of individuals carrying out their everyday tasks. In both essays, rude behavior plays a major role. “American Jerk” and “Rambos of the Road” have strong ties to selfishness, impatience, and a lack of common courtesy.
Schwartz implies that in this day and age we are so concerned about not making minorities feel uncomfortable that we rudely ignore those around us (54). Society gets so caught up in the big picture that they lose focus on what is right in front of them. Many individuals donate money to organizations that help the less fortunate in foreign countries while our own homeless are still in need. Drivers
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use this same ignorance on the road. A New York taxi driver once told Gottfried to “Drive as if you’re deaf and blind” (307). This is similar to the childish implication “if I cannot see you, you cannot see me.” We are like children who play with their toy cars, ramming them together and beeping obnoxiously at each other without regard for anyone else. There is a different set of acceptable mannerisms when comparing pushing a grocery cart down the aisle, to driving down the highway. While a shopper can get away with stopping in the middle of the bread aisle, a driver should never stop in the middle of a highway. According to Gottfried, drivers should always signal their intentions (307). Driving is mostly predictable and follows a clearly outlined set of rules. Unlike cars, people do not have turn signals or brake lights, so this makes them unpredictable. Sometimes there is no order to how they do things. While there are no laws about how to walk down the grocery store aisle, there are some generally known acts of common courtesy such as: be aware of those around you, no cutting, no throwing elbows, and no ramming. Schwartz points out that when walking in a busy place, it is rude to stop in the middle of the flow, for example, a busy airport terminal. (55). Recently our culture has developed a fear of offending anyone and everyone (Schwartz 54).
While it is rude and immature to purposely offend someone, it is equally ridiculous to live in fear of having a different opinion that might offend others. Any number of people can disagree and still be respectful to one another; our society seems to have forgotten the days where we could “agree to disagree.” Now everyone is of the mentality that “we cannot be friends if you do not like the same flavor of ice cream as I.” In the same way that our society hides behind politeness, drivers hide behind the wheel of their car. We feel safe to curse and seethe in our cars, a fortress for cowards (Gottfried 308). Drivers are no longer afraid to be rude when their identity is hidden behind a hunk of metal and rubber. It is like Bruce Wayne hiding behind his mask, only we are not out to save the city, but to honk and push our way through
it. “Civility and thoughtfulness in speech have never been so complete or so codified” (Schwartz 54). Our culture has turned euphemistic. People would sooner say what the world wants to hear than to admit the cold, hard truth. This is where society and driving contrast. In “Rambos of the Road,” Gottfried talks about intimidation going hand-in-hand with driving (307). Honking horns and screaming expletives help to get an individual where they need to go in a timely, efficient manner. It no longer matters who is offended because everyone is hiding in their tin boxes “riding shotgun and shrieking freedom” (Gottfried 308). Schwartz believes one of the main reasons for the rude behavior is selfishness. “. . . . [S]unlight contains tiny spores that lodge in the cerebellum, making the infected believe they are the center of the universe” (55). When making decisions, other people’s feelings and well-being are not typically taken into consideration. It is the “every man for himself” generation. Some individuals are too lazy and selfish to worry about anything other than themselves. Our generation is rapidly deteriorating and dragging the future generations along for the ride. Driving habits are not improving either. Drivers make impulsive, rude decisions on the road. If a driver is angered, all he must do is honk his horn and make rude hand gestures. Let the whole world learn from Gottfried’s experience “I was responding to crazy as a crazy” (307). It is now socially acceptable. And so, “we’ve reached the peak of our civilization and now everything is going to Tartarus in a chariot” (Schwartz 55). Manners are slowly disappearing from everyday life. No longer shall we hold the door open for others, or patiently wait in line at the gas pump. There is no room to be polite in this society. “And what constitutes as ‘wrong’? Anything that cramps your style” (Gottfried 308). Schwartz describes this as being the Great Civility War (55). Between all of the euphemisms and honking, America is unable to decide between a sugar-coated reality and honking our way to freedom. By ignoring the decline in behavior, we are unintentionally embracing it.
Some of the most prominent examples of individuals versus society are the ones who go against the norm, but many are a part of the norm trying to mask their differences with masks that belong to citizens of the sea of society. In Mark Twain’s article, Lynching Moral Cowardice, he states, “No mob has any sand in the presence of a man known to be splendidly brave. Besides a lynching mob would like to be scattered, for of a certainty there are never ten men in it who would not prefer to be somewhere else and would be, if they but had the courage to go” (Twain 1). Like Atticus, some of the bystanders, who had minority morals, had pangs of regret watching the life drain from innocent faces. In the early years of the 19th century and back, racism
This essay was written in the mindset of an African American male as he examines how his skin color affects how people react to him when he is in public spaces. He feels as if the sidewalks get narrower the closer he gets to others. He knows that the by passers fear him due to the stereotypical views society
The nature of a person’s behavior is determined by their values and their actions are guided by those beliefs. In “The Taste of Civilization: Food, Politics, and Civil Society,” Janet A. Flammang, writes about the importance of personal civility and its ability to shape a civil society. She argues that the civil manners are practiced around the table and do not lead to the dismissal of necessary conflict. Flammang discusses that not only is civility necessary, but conflict is the reason civility exists. Personal civility is the belief in how one should act, talk, or express their feelings.
In relation to the “Implicit association test, which measures unconscious bias,” Myers acknowledges that “Seventy percent of white people taking that test prefer white.” Not only do white people prefer someone of their race, but “Fifty percent of black people taking that test prefer white” as well. Informing us of the results from the IAT (Implicit Association Test) helps showcase that there is a clear bias among us that “we’ve been schooled in.” Myers provides this data in order to further justify that we all play a role in the “prejudices that fuel those kinds of tragic incidents” that happened to the black men mentioned in the previous paragraph. Conversely with a grandiose tone, the diversity advocate explains that the problem isn’t so much that “we see color” its “what we do when we see the color.” Verna Myers bringing this issue to light is effective in the sense that it makes her audience re-evaluate their standpoint within these specific instances. Are their prejudices a part of the problem?” Yes. Verna Myers is well aware that “we are not shooting people down in the street” nonetheless, we still contribute to the issue until we are willing to “look within and being to change
Dangers on roadways is an issue that describes the discrepancy between perception and reality of road rage. The media, for some odd reason, tends to make road rage a huge controversial issue. As seen on talk shows from Oprah Winfrey to CNN, they reveal to people that road rage could happen at any time and to always be looking over your shoulder. These talk shows and news programs also put fear into our minds by explaining that most roadragers often use guns to kill or injure their victims. Glassner contradicts the media's speculations by stating that out of approximately 250,000 people killed on roadways between 1990-1997, AAA attributed that one in one thousand was an act of road rage (pg.5).
One of the article quoted “discrimination imposes a disadvantage on certain persons relative to others, and those who are treated more favorably are not to be seen as victims of discrimination.” (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/discrimination/#ConDis) The next video was “Is this your bike?” is a social experiment about gender and racial identity. They demonstrated discrimination. I admit, I never liked social experiment because it tends to be a bias subject. This experiment shows the first impressions. I truly believed after seeing this video, as we already judge or felt bad for the African American guy, we will judge or criticize Americans. Isn’t it ironic? In this situation, there is really no win-win situation. One of the video I watched by Jackson Katz “violence about women”, I was amazed on his introduction. This is sort of related in a way that he mentioned when the society tries to synonymous one subject to an identity. This video demonstrated that the African American was synonymous to crime or the lady is judge by her weakness, they even helped her. Why is that? As he said that the dominant group is not paid attention. This was illustrated by the Caucasian guy who tries to steal the bike. Therefore,
...s existed in the society demonstrate a social trend where wealthy people and Caucasians move more freely in public space than minorities. According to this article, youth of color are facing exclusion and barriers to participate in workplace, school, and society, and they are at risk of being marginalized. This may potentially lead up to an avoidable serious racial issue in the future. Those in authority should take further action to ensure that children are protected from racial profiling.
Eppley, George. "Confessing to Road Rage." Human Development 26.3 (2005): 48. Acedemic Search Complete. Muntz Lib., Tyler, TX. 25 Mar. 2009.
...referring to the commentary about American Jews by Dr. Gerhard Falk. Explaining the case in which certain races or ethnic groups dominate within diverse fields is not just an American phenomenon, he cites Professor Walter Williams, who wrote about the privileges of Chinese minority in Malaysia. He also mentions the talk-show host Michael Savage who, after he earned his Ph.D., had trouble finding a job in his chosen field, and was told in so many words that "white men need not apply."
“Driving While Stupid” is about the author, Dave Barry, traveling around the world and observing the driving habits of foreign bus, taxi, and cab drivers, as well as the odd variety of activities he has seen others take part in behind the wheel of their own car. The article is not long. It’s eleven paragraphs and is composed of 780 words. And in this article, he is trying to make and argument. For a mere 780 words, one might not believe that that there is any point to this piece other than for the purpose of comic relief. Many of those words bring out the yuks in people, but what evidence does Barry present that results in a concrete argument, and what is he even arguing about? This piece could have very well worked as a simple informatory article about some of the dangers of driving while adding a few jokes to the mix to lighten up a seemingly depressing topic. But Barry very cleverly shapes his writing to not only inform, but to argue. He argues that while there are chaotic acts of driving everywhere in the world, there is nowhere that could top the antics of Miami drivers right here in the U.S.A. To better understand the points that Dave is trying to make, his article should be looked at in
In the article, “American Jerk: Be Civil or I’ll Beat You to a Pulp," by Todd Schwartz, Schwartz discusses his belief that people can be self-centered and can act Very selfishly while pretending to be civil. He believes that our civilation has progressed to the point where we no longer care about anything at all. While I agree with a lot of Schwartz's statements and conclusions, I also disagree with many things He said.
During my 25 minute observation period, I witnessed numerous types of people. My setting was simple, but provided me the opportunity to view scores of English and American citizens interacting with one another, often while performing the most dangerous of daily tasks. Driving. My spot at the traffic circle was at a corner adjacent to a gas station. I was positioned in such a way that I could see both drivers entering and exiting the round-about while other patrons were refueling their vehicles with gas. It was a searing Friday afternoon somewhere around 1300 hours. I’ll never forget the smell of hot rubber and gasoline that encircled me. I have driven through this round-about several times before, and I will drive through it many more times before I leave this country. However, I had never realized just how loud it could get sitting that close to traffic. The...
“Social forces create the 'feeling ' or 'decision ' to change your behavior in someway and to be very careful to check on the formality of future gatherings to which you are invited” (Pearson 43). The authors explain how when a person was invited to a faculty barbecue. The person attended the barbecue in casual clothing T-shirt, shorts, and sandals, but the rest of the faculty was dressed in formal clothing. The person felt a sense of embarrassment. A person can be very courteous to a different person of another race. A group can then make fun of the person for treating them equally to their race. Then the person who treated the other race with respect, will then discriminate the race because the person felt a sense of embarrassment from their own race, and want to be accepted by their race. To solve racism with social forces is to respect all races because no is superior or better than another race.
“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers” -Dave Barry, comedian. The number of accidents over the last ten years have drastically increased, drivers are paying less attention to the road itself. Many individuals behind the wheel of a car believe that their driving does not affect the road conditions, however it always will. The driving habits of today are catastrophic due to the reasoning that the driving will affect other lives through reckless or distracted driving, and disobeying traffic laws.
I.Attention Getter: Speeding, tailgating, giving the finger and outright violence. Each day Americans grow more and more likely to take out their personal frustrations on other drivers. It is called aggressive driving and it is on the incline.