Decline in virtue one of the tragedies of today

What has happened to virtue these days? Once I had an appointment at a doctor’s office and arrived to a full waiting room. All but one of the 10 chairs in the waiting room was taken.

After signing in at the desk, I turned, spotted the vacant chair and settled in for the wait. Next to me sat a tall lanky young man about 15 or 16 years old.

He was by far the youngest patient in the room. Stretched out in the chair, he crossed his long legs foot on top of foot. His angular presence seemed to occupy the entire waiting room. Sitting with his arms folded across his chest, the young man stared straight ahead, seemingly oblivious to any of us.

I surmised the woman sitting next to the young man was his mother. Once she said something to him and he responded in with a low mumble. She then reached over to touch his arm and he jerked it away.

In a few minutes, the office door opened and a little woman, probably in her 80s, gripping a walker, maneuvered her way into the waiting room. Another woman accompanying her signed her in at the desk while the elderly woman waited just inside the door.

Then her companion turned to find the elderly lady a chair. She glanced around the room for an empty space. I thought the teen boy would get up and give the older lady his seat. But the teen sat still, legs stretched out far into the space in front of him.

Several seconds passed. When I saw the lady had no chance of a chair for her elderly friend, I got up and offered the elderly woman my chair.

So the little woman started the slow trek over to my empty chair. Since the teen was by me, his long legs were in the way. I thought surely the boy would at least move his extended legs so she could pass. But I was mistaken.

To get to her spot to sit down, this little woman on her walker had to maneuver around the kid’s long legs to make her way to the chair. Never once did he move or utter “Excuse me.” He just sat there.

During all this time, the teen’s mother sat silent ... no instructions, no direction, no reprimand.

As frustrated I was with the young man’s manners, I was even more frustrated with his mother. How did it get to this point?

One of the tragic signs in our society today is the decline of virtue. A prevalent philosophy among all ages in our society is “Me first … I am all that matters!”

By the way the parents live, the children see this attitude modeled from an early age.

This attitude of “Me first” exists in all ages in our society. Many times the idea of virtue is portrayed in our society as having an attitude of faintheartedness, ineptness and no backbone.

Society says that the strong and crafty get ahead. In fact, some believe that virtue is just a characteristic of days of long ago, days when being virtuousness did little to get a person a piece of the great American dream.

The writer of the blog “Christian Crier” expounds on virtue when he wrote: “The word virtue has a lot of meaning and means many different things but can be a trait or disposition of character that leads to good behavior. One example is that someone with virtue displays wisdom, courage, kindness, good manners, courtesy, modesty, generosity, and self-control in their life. They treat others fairly and esteem others highly and value the sanctity of life.”

The simple lesson: Lead a virtuous life and instill that concept into your children and grandchildren by the way you live. We all know what is called the Golden Rule. Those are Jesus’ words and the concept is even more important today.

Jesus said: “Do onto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Luke 6:31)

Pretty simple I would say.

Judy Brandon writes about faith for The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact her at: [email protected]