Civility and Entitlement

During my childhood, my father used to share a silly rhyme about two brothers.

“Skinny and Fatty went to bed; Fatty rolled over and Skinny was dead.’’

His version of a Grimm Brothers fairy tale seemingly has been replaced in today’s society by two more brothers – Civility and Entitlement. Entitlement is hogging the covers and wants to roll over. Will Civility get bone-crushed?

It seems like we draw nearer each day to that possibility with every pundit’s “alternative facts,’’ outright lies by political operatives, unqualified authors and conspiracy theories on the Internet, or anyone shamelessly disregarding the truth in favor of their own selfish narrative.

I grew up in the Age of Aquarius, but I’m living in the Age of Entitlement. Me First. My way or the highway. No compromises; they signal weakness. This past week it seemed to gobsmack me in the face.

I saw it on the basketball court. I issued one technical foul in my first eight seasons, but I set a personal high with nine over the last three months. It started with a high school girl pushing and kicking a girl in a loose ball pileup, continued with two incidents of players F-bombing in response to fouls, and was capped by the junior high boy who mugged an opponent in the low post, then waved his arms like a Philadelphia Eagles fan.

I saw it on the expressways. My heart was in my throat when two drivers decided to race through afternoon commuter traffic on the Northway near Albany. The first guy had to be pushing 85 when he raced past us on the right shoulder, then darted left across two lanes of vehicles. This guy didn’t switch lanes; no, he jerked the wheel like he was in some kind of NASCAR fantasy.

I lost sight of the first maniac because his buddy darted in front of me from the left, saw no opening, tromped on his brakes, then took off on the right shoulder too. They belonged on a test track, but I was hoping they would meet a state trooper.

I heard it from a teacher friend who was scratching his head over his latest parent-teacher conference. The father was summoned to school when the boy would not stop swearing in the gym, lunchroom, even his classroom. The father came grudgingly, digested his son’s behavior, then exclaimed with exasperation, “What the f***! I don’t where the little bastard gets it.’’

I saw it in the news last week when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Georgia) proclaimed herself the victim of verbal abuse after a confrontation in a D.C. restaurant. Yes, the same MTG who suggested assassinating former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who harassed an 18-year-old survivor of the Parkland shootings and called him a “coward,’’ and who screamed “liar’’ at President Biden during the State of the Union address.

MTG said she was holding a staff meeting over dinner when a woman began berating her and her son screamed expletives at the top of his lungs.

“They are self righteous, insane, and completely out of control,’’ MTG said. “People used to respect others even if they had different views. But not anymore. Our country is gone.”

She may want to look in the mirror and contemplate her martyrdom.

Meanwhile, Civility and Entitlement are still fighting over the bedcovers. Let’s hope Civility wins.