our era is rage
equal opportunity
rage … not have enough
Based on the article, When Did Hospitality Get So Hostile? by Ligaya Mishan (NYT – 2/10/2023).
Ms. Mishan writes:
Ours is an era of rage.
Equal-opportunity rage: Even people with power and capital (social, cultural, financial) perceive themselves as not having enough.
And while this has been exacerbated by our past few years in thrall to a virus — something tiny, invisible, insidious and still incompletely understood — it started earlier, with the society-wide turn to consumerism, the mimetic pursuit of status through acquisition, the elevation of wealth to a gospel, the patronizing and dehumanizing of the have-nots and the growing rift between rich and poor, which is now close to an abyss.
The brilliance of the system is that it pits us against each other rather than those above us; it encourages us to worship and seek to imitate our overlords, not depose them.
I have long thought that the first real sign of the end times would be when people began to ignore that engine of common courtesy known as the 4-way stop.
When drivers no longer obeyed the laws, both written and unwritten, about how to handle a 4-way stop, then the end could not be far off.
It seems that the powers that be had the same concern about the end times so they invented the traffic circle.
Here in the low country, the powers that be love the traffic circle and they bring out statistics to show how effective they are.
T Bone crashes or crashes where cars meet at a 90 degree angle dropped 90% on the intersections that went from a traditional 4 way stop to a traffic circle.
That cars no longer approached other cars at a 90 degree angle was not cited as a reason for the drop in T-Bone accidents.
As Mr. Mencken kind of said, no one ever went broke under estimating the American intellect.
(Notice the State of Georgia removing the Confederate Battle Flag from their state flag due to public clamor. Notice the State of George replacing the Confederate Battle Flag with the Confederate National Colors and no one noticing.)
So I need a new sign of the coming end times to replace the 4-way stop.
Behavior in restaurants may be my next sign of end times as hospitality gets redefined.
Ms. Mishan writes:
Hospitality, as it has been understood for thousands of years, is a gift, unconditional, outside politics, giving food, shelter and aid — whatever you have, however little it is — to a stranger who may not speak your language or know your ways, and asking nothing in return.
The transaction upends the relationship. The diner who slaps down a Platinum Amex expects something spectacular in exchange. Dance for me. Make it worth my while.
Ms. Mishan closes with:
HOSTILITY AND HOSPITALITY: how faint the line between them.
The Latin hostis once meant “guest,” then became, through some shadowy slippage of language, the word for “enemy”
I certainly see this.
I certainly feel this.
The brilliance of the system is that it pits us against each other rather than those above us.
It encourages us to worship and seek to imitate our overlords, not depose them.
Brilliant indeed.
Ours is an era of rage.
What can be next but the end times.
