My Christmas shopping expeditions always start and end the same way. I get in my car, armed with a list and an seemingly inexhaustible reservoir of goodwill for the season. I come home frustrated, cranky and loaded with packages.

A few hours in the mall and my supply of Christmas goodwill evaporates in the face of all the angry drivers and aggressive shoppers.

Honking and swearing are the lingua franca on the roads these days. So is pushing and shoving in the cash register lineups. And every year it gets harder.

It’s possible that it’s my age. Perhaps 40-year-old mothers don’t get the same courteous treatment in the battle for parking spots as attractive twentysomethings. But I suspect there is something much bigger at play here.

I think our society is getting meaner. Year by year, we are getting less civil to one another. We are losing our interest in being polite. Is it any wonder why? Angry music and ultra-violent movies have made being kind a deeply uncool behaviour. Hip-hop stars and movie directors are the usual suspects, almost too obvious to mention.

There are hundreds of other less obvious influences that contribute to a society in which we are both less respectful of others — and more ruthless about promoting our own self- interests.

Have you watched the highlight reel from an NHL game lately? Half of the recap will be devoted to the goals scored, and the other half to every one of the bruising fights that broke out on the ice.

For some reason, we relish seeing talented, disciplined young men reduced to punching one another just as much as we enjoy seeing them perform astonishing athletic feats.

Just ask the five-year-old who was watching the game with us the other day. As soon as the first punch was thrown, he stood on his seat and shouted “get ‘em!”

Our celebration of violence in hockey is only one small example among many.

If you want to see real incivility, take a look at the news. It must be true that we are living today in one of the most partisan eras in Canadian politics.

Gone are the days when politicians would attack one another in debate and retire for a quiet drink after the day’s work was done. Today, you get the feeling that they actually hate each other.

One local politician famously admitted that he likes to step on the necks of his opponents when they’re down. He’s not alone.

Sadly, we seem to be living in an era when the angry man or woman is rewarded. The meek aren’t cut out for the job.

My wish for 2008 is for something different from all that — less road rage, more respect for the elderly lady who needs a seat on the bus, some patience for the harried mother trying to locate her wallet at the cash register.

The music industry, politicians and the NHL won’t change.

But change can happen — if, in the New Year, we decide to lead the way.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 23rd, 2007 at 1:01 am and is filed under Columns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.