Among all the issues that float about in the news and in the mouths and minds of people concerning the state of society in the modern world, one comes to my mind that has seemed to slip by most others. To me, this is ironic because this issue is far more prevalent than most hot topics, such as immigration injustice and mass shootings. The topic I am referring to is simply the widespread epidemic of people acting like, simply put, jerks. Now, don’t take this the wrong way. I am certainly not saying that that guy who held his car horn down for five seconds because someone unintentionally moved into his lane for an instant is a more pressing issue than than the shooting massacre in Sante Fe that left ten people dead. What I am saying is that the issue of people so often lacking common decency is one that is largely overlooked, and, to a degree, accepted.
According to one study, a quarter of big company employees said they were treated rudely one time or more a week in 1998, and this number had risen to nearly 50 percent in 2005 (Porath, Erez). So clearly this issue is a prevalent one, but it is one that also lacks any form of a spotlight. I think we as a society tend to overlook this issue because it is not one that seems very harmful to us. After all, someone giving you a dirty look or making a rude comment doesn’t really hurt you…or does it? Perhaps you’re reading this and you are asserting to yourself that no antics of some jerk will ever be a concern of yours. But I implore you, try to dig a bit deeper. If we think about how rudeness indirectly affects our society, then I believe we can start to see the picture. A 2016 study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology showed that the more rudeness an employee had experienced in a day, the more likely they were to demonstrate a lack of control and rude behavior themselves (Wall Street Journal). So while rudeness clearly should be considered a wide-ranging issue, labeling it as such can be quite difficult to do, as most issues that the media deems as “pressing” can be easily seen to have direct negative effects on a certain group of people without the need for indirect correlations and studies to prove their prominence. For example, when a high school cuts budgets to eliminate the student band, there is no secret who this is hurting and how. The students who participated in the band now no longer have the ability to pursue a passion of theirs, which should be a given for any student. Additionally, the directors of the band are now likely out of work, and they will have to scramble to find other means of supporting themselves and their families. But with rudeness, it is not that simple. If you consider all the mean interactions people have with each other on a day to day basis, the direct effects are ambiguous. Of course, this is excluding altercations that lead to violence and immediate threats of safety, such as bar fights, gang violence, etc. I am talking all the petty arguments people have, all the horns honked, all the eye rolls and refusals to give people the time of day. The effects of these occurrences aren’t so obvious. People go on with their days after incidences like these, don’t they? This is where most people don’t see the problem. I believe the overarching result of interactions like these is, in simple terms, an entirely less happy population of citizens than there would be without these kind of interactions. Though this cannot exactly be measured, it is certainly an issue. Whether we want to admit it or not, we all care at least a little bit what people say to us and think of us. It is human nature. We are hardwired to seek approval, as it is the very means by which we sustain our population through reproduction. Every rude comment, every scowl and scoff, results in a wound, no matter how small. Because people don’t see these “wounds” as much of an issue, rudeness in our society is left largely uncombatted. So, in this case, it is our society’s lack of communication and acknowledgement of this issue that is the root of the problem.
So, what can we do as a society to combat the common cold of the world of morality. The obvious answer seems to be that we should have a zero tolerance policy for rudeness. The government and its citizens alike should start petitions imploring people to not stand for honking of horns and name-calling. If everyone started to confront rude people, it would start to go away, just like confronting any other issue, such as the LGBTQ community pushing for the legalization of same-sex marriage. According to one article, though confronting rudeness may seem like begetting more of the problem itself, this is the only way to start combatting it, as anything less would be condoning the behavior (mindtools.com). There is just one problem. In order for people to confront an issue, it has to be measurably harmful, which the effects of rudeness is not. In order for people to confront rudeness, we first need to make its effects measurable. So, what actions could this include? One idea is a happiness pole. People around the country could be asked to estimate how many rude people they encounter every day, and then to rate and describe their level of happiness in general. If a statistical link could be made between rudeness and a decreased quality of life, then I believe people could start to combat the “Invisible Problem of Society”, as I’ve decided to name it. If such ideas can begin to be formed, I think people will naturally start to care, and though caring might seem small, that’s how all problems are solved in the beginning…just a little bit of caring.