In an era where the “bird” has become the international symbol for “you just cut me off” and the belief that “your friends are only worth what they can do for you” has become instilled in society, one has to question to themselves, “Where have our morals gone?”

I have noticed that even the little things in life such as holding doors, saying please and thank you, or even something  as simple as returning a smile have become increasingly rare gestures of kindness in this modern day society. This issue didn’t just blow up overnight either; we have been on a downward trend for quite some time now.

So who are we to blame for this? Is it a lack of quality parenting where discipline now is ignoring a child when they do something wrong or, on the other extreme, spanking them halfway into the ground while yelling at them from the top of the parent’s lungs?

Maybe it’s the school system that is to blame and we would have all turned out all right had we continued holding hands while walking down the halls together through our high school years.  Or maybe it’s Snookie’s fault that we live the way we do because she screams YOLO while passing out into a margarita and therefore we should all assume that “Jersey Shore” should be the guidebook to our lives.

No, we cannot blame our downfalls on poor parenting, the education system, or the pop culture icons that dominate the news.
The bottom line is that every day we are given the chance to do the right thing.

A simple act of kindness may not always be the easiest way to go, or the most convenient to us, but I believe that the effort that we put out will be returned to us tenfold.

This world will never be perfect, this we already know, but in a time of hardships and hurriedness we can make life a lot more enjoyable for everyone if we  just show common courtesy towards one another.

So next time try being the person who holds that door, or hands out the smiles, or for heaven’s sake braking (it’s the pedal to the left of the accelerator)instead of mowing down grandma as she rolls out of Wal-Mart at a half mile and hour on an electric cart.

Choose to be the change, the one who will stand up for the wellbeing of others even if the general population doesn’t.
You might just come to find out that the day you enlighten may not only be the other person’s, but your very own as well.