The Me First Society

     Most of us were coached by our parents to work hard and be the best that we can at what we do. Try hard, set goals, always work to better ourselves. Be respectful of others and to treat others the way that we would like to be treated. These are concepts and teachings that seem to have lost their way as of late.   I have noticed a lot of contrast to those lessons and how the real world functions. Now I’m not someone who thinks the world is perfect and recognize that daily life will certainly provide its disappointments from time to time, but I think we’re letting things slide a little more than is responsible and acceptable. 

     Here’s a quick blurb about a day which is completely possible in today’s world: I know, for I have lived it many times and I’m sure that you have too.

      It’s 6:15 in the evening and you’re just getting out of work.  You’ve just had the most terrible day and going home to cook doesn’t seem like a good option.  Instead, you decide to go against everything that your body is telling you and you make a plan to stop at Micky D’s on the way home.  As you leave your office, you take note of a man changing the light in the ceiling just outside the doors that lead to the parking lot.  Standing just a few feet away from him are two considerate smokers who are puffing their clouds of health in his general direction. You notice that the ceiling above him is catching all the smoke right where he is working.  Fighting off the urge to say anything, you walk out to your car which is parked in the farthest parking spot in the entire lot.  Why?  Not because you really enjoy the walk or from lack of closer spaces, but because you value your car and don’t want it damaged by people who don’t care about their cars or yours. Life has taught you that people will not respect your things, so your motives are justified for parking there.  You get to your spot where your car is in the corner and to the outer most edge of the parking space. You see that a person parked next to you and took the liberty of keeping your car company and parking over their line and in your space.  You pause for a second, let out a sigh, get in your car and leave. 

     Now off to the drive home where traffic is always busy, but you’re used to it by now.  You’re driving along and decide that going exactly the speed limit isn’t really your thing, so you move into the PASSING lane and find another car with the same idea as the car on the right going exactly 55 in a 55.  A pile of cars lines up behind the person and despite the car in front of you tailgating them and flashing their lights, the person doesn’t move over.  A few min later, as an exit comes up, the car finally speeds up and darts across 2 lanes of traffic at full throttle and exits by cutting off several cars and almost causing an accident.   You eventually get up to speed and are comfortably passing the car in the right lane, when they speed up ever so slightly just because they take offense to you wanting to go a little faster.  By doing so, you have to slow down and get behind them so that you don’t repeat the actions of the last guy who almost caused a major accident.  The second that you surrender to the car that won’t let you pass and get behind them, they slow down and you drive 54 mph until you reach your exit.  Eventually you survive the highway and make it to the exit where your food is waiting.
   
     Noticing that your gas tank is getting low, you stop to fill up before getting food.  You get out of your car and begin to pump gas.  There is a person blasting their stereo at the pumps and the guy next to you has chosen the ground as his personal trash can. As you leave, you spot someone with a cigarette in their mouth while pumping gas, so with that, it’s time to get out of there before you make the news as causality.   
      
     You drive away and finally reach McDonalds and wait in line. You order your food, receive it, and then head home to your house to finally relax from this crazy day.  You open the bag of food and the smell is just wonderful, but with one problem.  They got your order wrong.  You ordered a hamburger with no pickles or cheese…they gave you hamburger with just cheese…and lots of it!  Seriously?  I mean…SERIOUSLY?  You get back in your car, drive to the McDonalds and tell them what happened understanding that they make mistakes, but that you should get what you paid for.  The person snatches the hamburger out of your hand like you’re the one who was responsible and without saying “I’m sorry” or anything else for that matter, grabs you another one and sends you on your way.  You drive home, eat the hamburger which has now lost all the benefits and satisfaction of a perfectly unhealthy lazy meal and you would have been happier just being home and cooking or not eating dinner at all. You flip the news on and quickly turn it off due to all the negative news that seems to be the only thing that is ever reported on. The stories of murders, robberies and political finger pointing don’t appeal to you and certainly aren’t going to make you feel any better.  At this point in time, all hope is loss for decompression and relaxation and you find yourself spending a few minutes brainlessly searching online for nothing in particular, while flipping through channels on TV where nothing grabs your attention.  You fall asleep for a minute; fight it off a few more times and then head to bed. 

So while the story above reminds me of a day that could be found in the comical life of someone from the movie Office Space, it really does have a sad reality to it.  The simple fact that people are essentially in it for themselves.  That we live in a “Me First” society and it’s a world where someone does not consider how their actions will impact others and looks no further than themselves. In addition to that, there is no effort being made to be better at areas that need improvement.   There is just an acceptance that things are what they are. Shouldn’t we try to be better human beings?  Shouldn’t we work to be better in areas that need improving rather than lowering standards? For example, the fast food employee who just wanted to get you out of the way for the next customer.  Some people will say, “yeah but it’s just a McDonalds employee that’s what you should expect.”  Why? Why should we expect people to not do their best and allow for that to happen? Shouldn’t we have come to the realization that by allowing that kind of behavior, you will continue to have the same problems?  I hold them to the same criteria as anyone else and I don’t think we should continue to make excuses for those who don’t try. After all, we’re all human beings and nobody is above or below that point.

  Perhaps this would explain my more conservative approach to things, but I don’t believe in bending rules and making exceptions for people who are inconvenienced by structure.  Sadly, our society needs the influence of someone telling them "no" every now and again. My father faught me that lesson at a young age and I think it was a very valuable lesson.  I believe the more that we give in to peoples “special demands” the more we’ll see of the events above. It just builds on the concept of "me first" thinking.   It’s time for people to start looking at the bigger picture.  It’s time for people to start acting the way they should and to stop making excuses.  People to be accountable for their actions and start working towards being better.  We all can improve on something, so be better!  That is my challenge…you can take or leave it.  J

Hometown Fans Have It Best

Growing up, most of us picked a favorite team to cheer for week in and week out.  For some of us, the chance to cheer for the hometown team wasn’t the preferred option. Maybe the hometown team wasn’t very good, maybe their jerseys were ugly or maybe we just picked another team just to be different from anyone else in the area.  Whatever the case may be, the true hometown fans have it best and for many reasons.

I’ll use hockey as an example, more specifically the NHL.  I can say that I’m a born and raised Buffalo Sabres fan.  I think the only time that the Sabres might not have been my favorite team was when I was a child and got my first taste of hockey from a Nintendo video game called “Blades of Steel”.  Back then, I picked the Edmonton Oilers as my team because they were a cool lime green in the game (not even their real colors).   I remember going to my first game at the Aud in Buffalo and while I was excited to be watching the Sabres play, I wanted Oilers merchandise.  To my dismay, the team’s colors were Orange and Blue and while that didn’t stop me from purchasing a mini hockey stick and pin, I lost interest in the team.  Instead, I started cheering for the hometown Sabres.

At first the interest in the team was non-committal, but over the years, my interest grew much like a large Buffalo snow ball being rolled down a hill.  Memories of the great calls from Rick Jeanerette such as “May Day” or “LA LA LA LA LA LA LAFONTAINE” became staples of my earliest memories of the team.   When I reached high-school, I had an enormous group of friends who would gather for most games at friends’ houses and we would cheer and pout in unison.  I attained many great memories that linked my team to my friends.  These memories weren’t necessarily centered on winning, but the fun times to be had with the people around me.  The opening of the HSBC arena, The Stanley cup finals in 99’, the magic of the 05-06 and the 07-08 seasons, President’s trophy, revived their old logos, the Pegula Era.  Each of these events was shared among my family and friends and by a city that was behind their team.

Some of my friends cheer for teams who are expected to be a Stanley cup contender each year, even while living in Buffalo.  They can walk around proudly knowing that their team hasn’t missed the playoffs in 2 decades and they have Stanley cups to be happy about.  But with all that being said, they don’t have the experiences of walking down the street in Buffalo only to hear car horns and the metro tooting their horns to the tune of “let’s go Buf-Fa-Lo”.  They don’t have the local gatherings where an entire bar is cheering for their team.  They don’t have a local fan base to share in the team’s success and failure. They’re on their own.  They don’t have the memories that I have created over the years with great people.

Has my team won the Stanley cup yet?  No, they haven’t.  Would I trade my experiences for 5 Stanley cups?  Never in my lifetime. Not everyone has the opportunity to have an NHL team in town, but for those who do and choose not to cheer for the hometown team, they’re missing out.  These fans can get excited about another team that they couldn’t fully experience and I’m sad for them because they don’t know the half of it.  Sports represent so much more to us than the final score at the end of the season.  Just like a great movie or even life in general, it’s about the ride and the experiences along the way.  I can tell you that when the Sabres finally do win a Stanley Cup, the thrill of that victory will be so much rewarding to someone who has stayed true to their hometown team.  Knowing that you’ve stuck with your team, created memories, and have people to share the victory with, is something that the outsider fan will never know or experience.  And for that, they are missing the whole point of cheering and best part of being a fan.