does it matter?

I spent a good chunk of today in the airport. Per usual though, since everytime I travel outside of Charleston I am required to first bypass the Charleston International Airport. Such a title would suggest that this particular hub is competent, productive, and well, on time. Contrary to popular belief, I have had an on-time flight exactly zero out of four times. Just to put it in perspective, the percent equivalent of the fractional value 0/4, is zero. Needless to say, it's frustrating. What is also frustrating is the utter disregard, and hypocrisy, that I observed in myself at the airport today.

Sitting in uncomfortable chairs (to which the attached armrests are cemented in place so that one cannot--god forbid--lay down) gives you plenty of time to reflect. Too many times I have been on a delayed flight. Too many times have I been stuck in queue waiting to exit the plane and catch a short connector. And too many times (more times than I'd like to admit), I find myself cursing silently at these sons-of-bitches to hurry to fuck up. But the reality is that I am no more important than the slow motherfuckers that I follow. Reading this, I am sure that we can all agree. But no matter how true this is, we often refuse to believe it. Furthermore, it's often that the most obvious facts-of-life are the easiest to ignore. Guilty of sighing loudly and complaining under my breath while I wait in line at the BMV, I am. Let's face it, for our own sanity, that federal offices will always be closed on holidays and will, every other day, move slow as humanly possible.

While we were waiting to take off, the pilot came over the loud speaker to inform us that we would be waiting a few extra minutes for passengers that had just landed and would be arriving shortly. And I couldn't help but let out a grieving sigh, for I had been anxious to be home all day. Worse than this, the woman behind me shouted a verbal complaint to the pilot from a seat behind me. How could we be so selfish? It is the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, flights are likely all booked for tomorrow, and these travelers just want to go home, like me. And I can't dismount my high horse long enough to comprehend this?

And as I impatiently wait to land, I notice that the seat beside me is empty. This flight was supposed to be full. And the ghost traveler whose seat this is may not find another flight until Thanksgiving day, may miss Thanksgiving dinner, the Macy's day parade, and the dog show that follows. And this is not due to the Delta's incompetence--it is due to the way we think. If every pilot would be so kind as to wait for lagging passengers, if it were normal for us to look out for one another to the degree that we look out for ourselves, the world would be (at the risk of sounding cliche) a better place.

But the stupid reality is that we do not think this way. Homo sapiens are like any other species on Earth. Just because we are intelligent, does not mean we surpass the conditions, or rules of natural selection. Though, (likely) unlike any other species, we are capable of evaluating our thoughts and actions--which is why I was able to label the woman behind me, "selfish." The fact of the matter is that she was just looking out for herself, and possibly her family, but mostly herself. So should I be so disappointed in humanity? Yes. Perhaps not solely for her selfishness, but because we are capable of judging our own behavior, and should thus be able to control our selfish instincts. I realize (unfortunately) that I cannot control this in her, but I can try to supress my own inward-thinking ways. As humans we value, well, our values. We hold selfishness as a sin (though I'm not sure it should be considered such). But because we do, we should swallow our own best interests, and start looking out for our species in its entirety.

oh, such sport.