Thursday, December 3, 2009

"Me First" -- Of Mayors and Travel

Well--Baltimore hit the national news, again.

And like usual--it wasn't in a good way.

I remember a few years ago, Baltimore's neighbor to the south--Washington, DC has an infamous mayor too.

Shelia Dixon--I mean really--when was the last time someone gave gifts to their girl friend of 60 or so gift cards in low denominations?

The Washington Post story lays it out best:

AN ELECTED OFFICIAL who pilfers gift cards intended for needy children clearly puts her interests first. It should be no surprise, then, that Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon thinks she can stay in office after a jury found her guilty of misdemeanor theft. Her audacity only compounds her offense -- which is why we hope that Ms. Dixon soon feels enough public pressure to reconsider and resigns her office.

And that encapsulates everything wrong with the mayor situation in Baltimore. Too much "me first!"

And that same "Me First" pervades everything in our society right now.

Airlines are cashing in on it--United Airlines actually sells a package that allows people to board before they would normally board the airplane. I guess people just like being cramped into not enough space for a longer time.

Go anywhere there is a queue (or "line" for the American at heart) waiting to get into a venue. Line crashers who blatantly crash the line. I had a couple jump in front of me at the airport on Monday--they probably saved all of 30 seconds in their total check in procedure.

Even our driving represents a "me first" attitude. We hurry to make it through the stop light, or race out of concerts early so as not to be caught in the traffic mess.

We need to slow down a bit--and think of others.

This is a good time of year for that as it is the Christmas season.

Just don't take an example for the Mayor of Baltimore. And if you do slip into the "me first" admit you did it. Again--the mayor just isn't setting a good example for people to emulate.

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