Almost everyone has experienced it: trying desperately to get across campus in time for the next class, yet hamstrung in the endeavor at every turn due to a decided lack of courtesy. Large herds of slow moving individuals block nearly the whole path and can’t be bothered to move out of the way or speed up. Cyclists and skateboarders zip through the few openings at high speed. Finally, cell-phone zombies randomly create obstacles because they are unable to look up from their screens.
A little courtesy for others, demonstrated by everyone, can go a long way toward alleviating such struggles. The problem, though, is that nearly everyone is so involved with their own little world that it completely escapes them how they can affect others. In other words, they’re just too special to themselves to be courteous.
That’s not to say it’s a conscious decision to place oneself first at the expense of others. It’s generally wrong to ascribe negative motivation to individuals that create hardships for those around them. While a select few might be deliberately discourteous, most achieve it accidentally.
Accidental discourtesy, however, is still discourtesy. Selfish behavior is dependent upon action rather than intent. And the action of creating difficulty of movement for fellow Mavericks for one’s own sake, whether conscious or not, is indeed selfish behavior.
Blocking the path by slowly walking shoulder to shoulder with friends, and refusing to make way for faster traffic, is selfish behavior. Zipping through tight places at the peril of others while riding a bike or board is selfish behavior. Stepping in front of others and causing either a collision or inconvenience is selfish behavior.
The message such behavior sends, regardless of intention, is that the perpetrators of such actions consider themselves more important than those around them. It’s a very special individual indeed, that is so important they aren’t under social obligation to be courteous. The problem is that no such individual actually exists.
Regardless of how anyone may feel about themselves, nobody is any more special than anybody else; not even the president of the United States. That means that nobody is too special to be courteous.
Being courteous costs us nothing, yet means everything. How we treat others, particularly those that are not in a position to directly benefit us, says more about our character than any words can.
Exercising the tiniest of effort to pay attention to the world around us can make a big difference in the campus experience. Taking the initiative to avoid blocking the path of fellow students in a hurry, slowing down in high traffic areas whilst riding any wheeled device and looking up from our phones while in transit communicates a desire to coexist peacefully and compassionately on campus.
I genuinely believe the overwhelming majority of Colorado Mesa University students are good-hearted individuals. It’s therefore the goal of this opinion piece to have such individuals physically demonstrate the good within themselves through conscientious courtesy on the campus path.
In conclusion, be nice, don’t be selfish and remember that nobody is too special to be courteous.
