Properly fitting pants isn't always enough

I received a phone call from a reader last week, complaining about local young people who apparently were walking in the middle of the street with their baggy pants hanging around their midsections.

Though I'm not sure that a few kids looking like fools with their pants on the ground is a particularly major news story, I generally share the sentiment of the caller. It looks stupid. And when coupled with walking in the middle of the road, as these young people were apparently doing, it's rude and inconsiderate as well.

I was thinking about that caller Friday night while doing some shopping. I was in the lawn and garden section of the store, trying to find the carrot plants my wife sent me in search of. They weren't to be found, but I was doing my diligent best to make sure I hadn't missed anything — and I think it was pretty clear that I was looking intently at the merchandise.

That's when another shopper pushed his cart between me and the shelves, stopping right in front of me to look for what he needed, completely obscuring my view. He has absolutely no consideration for what I was doing. What's interesting is that this shopper was not some young punk, but rather an older, generally respectable-looking gentlemen.

I guess it goes to show that when it comes to rude and inconsiderate behavior, age does not discriminate.

Another example: I was at a local restaurant with an out-of-town professional colleague a couple of years ago, when a citizen took it upon herself to use that time to accost me over an item that had recently run in the paper. Now, in general, I appreciate feedback, both good and bad. And for the record, the woman probably had a reasonable gripe about the item in question. But to make a point of bringing it up in that manner, in that place, took some gall. Surely, such issues could be addressed in a more considerate time and place than when I was attempting to enjoy lunch with a visiting colleague.

And again, this wasn't a young person who "hadn't been taught any better." It was a fully grown adult — an individual who I think is otherwise pretty well-respected around town.

My point is this: We can complain all we want about "these kids today" with their rude behavior and inconsiderate demeanor; but the fact is, we've all got to do a better job of behaving ourselves.

Besides that, the notion of kids behaving "badly" is nothing new. Every generation has had it's share of youthful rebellion, from the 1920s to the 1960s to the 2010s. Nobody is wrong to be turned off by such behavior, mind you. Teens can be loud and obnoxious, to be sure, and you can put my name at the top of the list of people who have been annoyed by such antics.

But spending too much time complaining about "these kids today" is a waste of energy. That energy could be more well-spent in the name of doing something positive. Something like helping a neighbor. Or donating time or money. Or simply making sure we each doing our best to be kind and considerate. That's the kind of thing that will truly make our community — and our world — a better place.