Have you ever seen the Liberty Mutual commercial that depicts a world full of people helping one another? One man saves an elevator for someone, another person views that act of kindness then does one too, such as picking up a piece of trash or a baby’s toy. The commercial is a chain reaction of kind gestures from one person to another, a chain reaction that happens far too little around Quinnipiac University.
When was the last time someone held the door for you for an extra 10 seconds while you caught up to them? Has anyone helped you carry that big box of books you just picked up from the bookstore? Or even better, have you done any of these things?
If your answer to any of the above questions was anything other than “today” or “yesterday” then there’s a problem. Simple common courtesies such as the ones mentioned should happen in our day to day lives. I don’t understand how some people don’t thank the shuttle drivers or hold the door open for just a second longer to help the person coming their way.
Maybe the answer to these reoccurring faults is society.
Our society is so fast-paced and so competitive that everyone is thinking of themselves and what they can do to get ahead; some people may be forgetting the very first rules of kindness we all learned in kindergarten.
I think that the cell phone is a huge part of the problem. For some reason, phones are now permanently attached to our ears. If it isn’t attached our ear, there is a good chance that we’re looking down at the phone while walking and texting at the same time, failing to notice anyone around us.
So I suppose what I’m asking Quinnipiac students to do is to mind your manners-the ones that our parents instilled in all of us from a very young age. Please, put the phone down for a few minutes. Or, if it really does need to be attached, at least be aware of the people walking behind you, and remember to say thank you when appropriate.