People incorrectly think that their morality only becomes tested when the stakes are high. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's quite likely that when something is big enough, you might do the "right" thing just out of obligation or guilt. Integrity is doing the right thing for the right reasons. It's the little daily activities that trully test what kind of person you are.

With that being said, I think the logical conclusion is that how a person conducts themselves while waiting in line defines their existence as human beings. Recently, i had the unfortunate displeasure of witnessing people completely disregard their fellow man in an attempt to satisfy their own personal greed. Try as they might to justify such horrible behavior, there is simply no justification. Either you are part of the problem or part of the solution. These people are part of the problem.

When the bbq was about to start, i immediately got in line. I was in a rush b/c my last class ever was starting in 10 minutes. The line was brutally long and filled up right behind me. Hungry, sitting out in the heat, and watching the clock, the line was obviously annoying. But, what was 100x worse was watching the occassional person forgo the line and just take whatever they wanted. They were so shady about it too, just happening to want to say hello to one of their friends who was at the front of the line. Here's a news flash, in such a limited environment, everyone basically knows everyone. it's the equivelant of when PJ points in one direction right before he hits you with a pillow in a drunken stupor. You can see it coming from a mile away.

Anyway, these line cutters come up with all types of excuses: i was hungry, i couldn't wait in line, everyone is doing, etc etc etc.

Of course, we were all hungry. Wanting something doesn't justify taking something. There are lots of things i want. The question is whether you are entitled to them. And if you don't wait in line, you aren't entitled to it. How is it that these people think they are too good to stand in line? I had a class to get to, while i saw some of these line cutters then sitting out in the sun lazily enjoying their food. But it's the "everyone is doing it" part that really bothers me.

Obbviously, not every one is doing it. Because if they were, there wouldn't be a line. There would be complete chaos. No, just the selfish and inconsiderate people are doing it. And guess what, the people that were going to wait in line see this and get frustrated and maybe they cut as well. Now your decision to cut has not only hurt all the people in line who now have to wait longer, but it has also encouraged other people to act equally inconsiderate. Furthermore, for someone in line to say "everyon is cutting", they are obviously noticing the shadiness of the behavior. Now, maybe it takes a rare person to sit and get so angry that they stew about it for a week and then rant about it in a blog, but i imagine that a "normal" person's view of the world drops just a bit. Maybe down the line said person decides not to go out of their way to help a person. Not to give a horribly cliched "pay it forward" interpretation, but i REFUSE to believe that these encounters with selfish people don't accumulate. Often, we just push it down deep into a little ball, and occassionaly release it by punching out an umpire. I can't imagine caring so little about the people around you that you can "hurt" them for your own personal gain. How can these people be so painfully unware?

So, i waited an extra 2 minutes for my burger. Big deal. But where does it stop? Can you just litter b/c who cares if there's some garbage on the floor? Everyone does it. The garbage can was ALL THE WAY OVER THERE. Look out for number one, i guess. society comes in a distant second.

If i'm a bitter person, it's only b/c for 25 years i've had to endure people cutting me in line.