Where is Aretha when you need her?

This past weekend I went with Karyn and our friend Jen to see a movie. It was a pg13 horror movie on a Saturday night at 8pm and it was quite easily the worst movie experience of my life (yes surpassing previous disasters that included the 13 year old girl sucking a straw behind me for 2 straight hours and when we saw a movie with a woman waving her fan over her head -although that last one came with the best joke "um, I think she thought she was in memoirs of a geisha"). There were two crying babies and a child who was 3 years old walking around the middle of the theatre as people were dying in the horror/thriller movie. Also the kids were loud beyond belief.

So why was it so bad? Because I left shocked at the state of our world. The fact is that most of the people in this world lack respect for other people. Perhaps what we need is a giant social propgram where Aretha teaches that magical word to us all? R-E-S-P-E-C-T! People just don't care (Rich, poor, middle class - it's everyone). People shoving to get places, people taking an extra seat for their bag on a crowded train, Talking loudly on your cell phone when you know people are trying to enjoy their peace and quiet. Even my almost five year old niece Lucy has better behavior than 80% of the kids in this theatre. This type of behavior drives people farther and farther apart and creates more barriers in the world. I am proud to say that I do not live my life as a part of the "me" generation.

As a side note, after watching the horrors of the Virginia Tech massacre, I realize that again, more programs are needed for our world that help deal with social issues - mental health awareness, respect for your fellow man, etc. Even though I know elements of this tragedy are unexplainable, I feel like something can be done to help further improve the progress of our society.

Respect for your fellow man should not be a pipe dream - it should be a reality.