Wiener is a third-year political science student.
By Steven Wiener
Everyone has his or her solutions to fix the world.
Unfortunately, either for lack of motivation or power status, a
person has limited opportunities to implement their plans. Even
though we may not be able to resolve world issues on an individual
level, we can strive to make ourselves better people and hopefully
influence others around us to follow suit.
Take for example, our college campus: UCLA. After being here for
two years and studying my surroundings, I can easily make a laundry
list of problems with our school. My main focus for the purpose of
this article will be on social interactions among individuals. More
specifically, I would like to touch on first impressions and the
lack of courtesy granted to others in these types of
situations.
Theoretically, we have several opportunities every day to
interact with individuals. An event such as this that most of us go
through every day is the long haul to and from campus. It still
amazes me how some people can walk to and from class and pretend
that they are the only person in existence. Unless you know
someone, very few people bother to exchange salutations much less
make eye contact.
The lack of fundamental acknowledgement of others is something
that bothers me to the utmost extreme. I have elected to take
advantage of opportunities where I can show random acts of kindness
to others.
The main problem is that people our age tend to be impolite and
sometimes blatantly rude. Whether societal norms have diminished or
parental techniques have faltered, succeeding generations are less
courteous and respectful than preceding ones. As a society, our
manners and the way we treat others has diminished with time.
Anytime someone mentions another country, their response is always
accompanied with a mention of how “friendly” the
inhabitants were.
Realizing that we dwell in the quintessence of superficiality
and materialism, I understand why people subterfuge their endearing
qualities for the sake of image approval. Most of us, however, try
to tell ourselves that we are “good” people. Just
because we live in Los Angeles, doesn’t mean we have to
succumb to the stereotyped tendencies of the area.
From my own personal experience, I can tell you that being
friendly is not all that difficult. When I stroll to class, I carry
a smile on my face, eliciting different responses from people I
pass by. Some people come around and cordially smile back, while
others look at me like I am a crazed, drooling beast. These types
of people cannot get over the shock of being greeted by someone
with whom they have not had prior contact.
It really should not be all that surprising to have another
human being contact you. We are social animals and it is only
natural that we express ourselves by exchanging verbal
communication.
In addition to the unpleasant elicited responses, others simply
pretend that they do not hear my friendly greeting. These types of
people perhaps think that they are too good to bother responding to
a stranger. Apparently, they already have enough friends and
acquaintances, so they feel that it is would be an unnecessary
waste of time to show fondness to others.
Often the individual will pass with nose raised toward the sky,
an obvious indication of snobbery. My favorite response is when I
say “hi” to someone who is with a friend or two. Right
after they pass me, I hear an outburst of laughter. I can just
imagine the dialogue. “Like Oh my God, can you believe that
freak who I didn’t know said like, hi?” Well, perhaps
these were people who I might be better off not knowing.
But then, there are those sympathetic souls who find enough
courage and camaraderie to muster up the confidence and return my
verbal acknowledgement. In these spontaneous and thrilling
occasions, the trend is reversed. Some people really are
considerate and have manners. As you can see, saying
“hello” to people draws different reactions and to the
people who respond affectionately, I applaud their kindness.
Isn’t that amazing? At our school, it is surprising to
find others who are courteous and friendly. But the fact of the
matter is that we are all people and if we could just look past the
surface, we would find that it is relatively simple to be pleasant
with one another.
And when you do get that return smile or “hi” back,
it is self-satisfying. The openness and warmth that you have
bestowed upon an individual is suddenly returned to you. In that
one instance, you have influenced another person to think and act
differently.
Enjoying the simple pleasures of life and becoming a better
person are life long processes. It is that simple (a smile, or a
simple word) to encourage others to improve our communal
surroundings and social interactions. So, if some random guy says
“hi” to you tomorrow, return the favor.