How rude!

Although this topic reminds me of Stephanie Tanner's character from the TV show "Full House" -- who was known for saying "How rude!" and, later in real life as Jodie Sweetin, for a meth addiction (how ironic) -- it also has me confused. Are people getting ruder?
You may consider it bad luck or a bad day on my part but recently an afternoon running errands featured rude people in every nook and cranny: the parking lot, two different stores, out on the road. It ranged from a woman screaming at her young children in a well-known store, "if you don't get back here I'm gonna f***ing hit you in the face with my fists" (I'm serious) to a woman cutting out in front of me in a parking lot and yelling at me for looking annoyed to a woman in another well-known store blatantly cutting in front of me in line with no apology.
I thought, well ... maybe this is a coincidence but, as I considered the past few weeks and months, turned this idea down in favor of a rise in rudeness.
So let's say we agree people are ruder these days. What is the reason for this phenomenon?
In the words of the Riddler, RIDDLE ME THIS ...
Maybe the rudeness surge is linked to a basic part of emotional development: parents don't stress the importance of good manners. I took etiquette and dance class when I was young, probably because my mom hoped the cure for my tomboy-ism was a lacquered faced blonde stressing proper introductions, table settings and Cha-Cha form every Friday after school. Luckily (for 9-year-old me who was interested in ditching the Laura Ashley dresses for reading sci-fi, swimming in the creek and playing sports) after three years of study I hid the annual mailed invitation and feigned ignorance as to why I wasn't invited back. However, I learned a lot that stuck with me and helped me out everywhere, from work to social settings, so thanks mom! But I digress.
The possibility of parents not stressing good manners accounts for rude people, not those in the midst of a bad day or preoccupied in thought. Also, parents can teach their kids all they want but once the youth meet other kids, who knows what they will pick up? Hey, Billy's older brother let him borrow a Playboy, wanna sneak a peak? Thus comes the importance of open conversations with your kids and involvement in their lives. Also, many parents say one thing and do the opposite: do as I say not as I do. You can tell your kid to be nice to people, even chastise them when they are rude, but when they witness you being mean to someone they will copy your actions, not your words!
Or maybe we are so focused on our lives and busy schedules we don't think about other people. You are in a store and what is on your mind: items on your list, other items you see and want to buy but don't need, your evening plans, your day thus far, the meaning of life, something you're dreading, the hottie in aisle 3, the recent fight you had with your spouse, regretting not putting on makeup and a decent outfit since you just saw someone you haven't seen for a long time and you know you look a hot mess .... and so on. Preoccupied thought doesn't necessarily mean you are rude, it means you have a lot on your mind since most people fill their lives with this, that and the other to excess. As I have told my significant other before: you are ACTING like a jerk, doesn't mean you are a jerk, it means currently you are acting like one.
Next time you are in a store, look around. Pick someone at random and guess what is going on in their life. Maybe nothing extreme or maybe their father is dying of cancer or their husband just left them for a younger woman or maybe they are suffering from low self-esteem or ... maybe they are just a rude jerk.
Although most rude people are found behind the wheel of their automobiles, rolling down the highway as if they are at an amusement park and this is one wild version of bumper cars, there is a weird sense of comfort when in your car, as if you can do whatever you want (ROAD RAGE) and there are no consequences since you are safe in a bubble. Getting stuck behind some asshat going 45 mph in a well labeled 55 mph zone, and you can't pass them for miles, which in turn feels like hours, and when you finally do pass and glare at them as your car speeds along you find yourself behind another asshat in mere minutes. You yell, you sigh loudly, roll your eyes, you scream, you say things you don't mean since you have no idea who that person is or why they are driving slow (slow for you). It's the ultimate safety zone for all aggression unless they get out of their car at the next stoplight and race towards you with a Glock and an itchy trigger finger.
Or maybe people are rude because we are obsessed with our own lives. Not as in we have too much going on so our mind is filled to the brim with friendships, appointments, work, play, etc. We are a race of egomaniacs, of people binging on anti-depressants and alcohol, pain killers and fast food. We want it all and we want it now! We want to be happy all day, everyday. You know, the happiness you see in movies. Shiny happy people. If you don't believe me then put your TiVo remote down and watch commercials, which directly prey on your innermost desires and attempt to trick you into buying things you don't need. What do they offer? Eat whatever you want and lose weight! Perfumes and makeup to make you beautiful, booze to make you the life of the party and get you laid, fast food that looks delicious but mysteriously not how it looks (or tastes) when you go out and buy it, happy families out to dinner together or at some amusement park or on vacation. So painfully happy. If you eat at McDonalds or drink Budweiser or go on vacation, you too can be happy.
We are hyper-focused on our feelings, with our sights aimed directly inward. I was cranky today and a bit on edge. One might say I was driving the bitter bus. Instead of looking at contributing outside factors (i.e. traffic was a bitch today, my eye doctor doesn't have my contacts ready for pick up, the same ones I paid for three months ago and have been waiting for as I wear my stupid glasses out and about, etc.), it is easier to think I am depressed and need a pill to boost my attitude. No one (normal person) wants to be sad or angry or bitter, I would rather spend my day in a pleasant mood with a good attitude but I did not and that's OK. Not every day is going to be a handbag full of rainbows and people need to realize this and act accordingly.
This is not to say anti-depressants should be banned. On the contrary, many people need them and have chemical imbalances. However, it is adversity that makes us stronger. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. (Cliche but still true). You can play hide and seek with life and dull your emotions with pills or alcohol but it's going to make things worse.
These rude people who are focused inward and egotistical, wake up and look outside yourself. You are stuck in traffic and someone ahead is going slow, holding YOU up, wasting YOUR time, in YOUR way. It ain't all about you sunshine. This isn't to say this person shouldn't speed up already but you have to get past this way of thinking or you are going to be screaming your head off at the person in front of you and have a freakin' heart attack over 5 mph. Is that worth your anger? Next time you get mad or are about to be rude, check yourself. Is this really worth negative energy?
This isn't to say you should be Mary F-ing Sunshine to every Dick, Jane and Sally but know when you are spinning your wheels. First, try being nice to people who mean something to you, your friends and family. Pick your battles. Next time you are about to be rude, think: am I being rude because this situation warrants it or because I'm upset about something else? If you don't do this your emotions are going to become so out of whack you won't know why you are upset. Check yourself before you wreck yourself.
Do as I say, not as I do because those asshats from the other day, well I believe in karma, so those rude people are going to have some bad juju coming back at them. HA!