This week, I noticed once again, how my cultural stereotypes have been reinforced. I faced a couple of situations where it just seemed like everyone was unduly angry and had overdosed on entitlement right here in my backyard. What happened to that Christmas Spirit of my childhood that I so vividly remembered?
I started comparing the city of New York and its nearly 9 million people to Manchester, Iowa with its population of 5,000.
In my head, I was tempted to hypothesize that even from 1,000 miles away, the “Empire State Attitude” of New Yorkers was bleeding into rural America. Of course, this is based on a well-known assumption, “New Yorkers are rude.”
The second “well-known assumption” tells me that there is a circle-the-wagons attitude by traditionally included ‘members’ of small-town society. Acceptance is difficult for ‘the stranger’. They are met with suspicion and mistrust even after many years of residence.
Combining these two ‘attitudes’ presents nothing but trouble and that was my state of mind yesterday as I drove to Cedar Rapids for a couple of Christmas gifts.
During the 45-minute drive, I listened to traditional holiday tunes to calm my nerves. If nothing else, I’d recapture some of that missing ‘spirit’ alone in my car!
The path included a short section of Interstate 380. I rarely drive on freeways anymore, but I remember how it works. It took only a few minutes, and I saw a semi stopped on the side of the road and the flashing lights of a Highway Patrol vehicle.
I put my left-turn blinker on and checked my mirrors with the intent to give the emergency vehicle the right lane. Of course, there was already a car behind me in the left lane. There was plenty of room to move over, but as I mentioned, I know how this works. I turned my turn signal off and started to slow down to let the car behind pass me.
That’s when the unexpected happened.
The driver behind me flashed his headlights allowing me to move over to clear the right lane for those in trouble. He gave me a friendly wave and slowed down because I must have hesitated. I mean, this does not happen! Nobody gives an inch on a freeway – not ever!
But here we were, working together to do the right thing. I moved over, we both passed the stopped vehicles, and I moved back to the right. As I was overtaken by the considerate driver, we both waved, and I felt an immense gratitude for the Spirit of Christmas that I had lamented just moments ago.
“Now THAT’S what I’m talkin' ‘bout!”
This morning’s sermon resonated, especially after my recent excursion. If I want the Spirit of Christmas to be alive and well, I shouldn’t just sit around and complain that it can’t be found. Rather than incorporating entitlement and judgment of others, I can be accommodating - like the considerate driver. I can humble myself to serve others in a million tiny ways. I can (we can) project the Spirit of Christmas in a way that fulfills the message I heard this morning.
“Be the reason someone smiles today.”
"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!" Philippians 2:5-8
OK – message received. Now let’s add the disclaimers for the stereotypes above.
New York Attitudes
- “Step up, speed up, or get out of our way!” FreshNYC.com
- “New Yorkers are also known for their acceptance of others, and they embrace differences in a way that makes everyone feel welcome and included.” Wikipedia
- “New Yorkers have a reputation for being rude, and it's true they can seriously be abrupt.” … “And here's a deep dark secret: When it comes to being a good Samaritan, New Yorkers will forsake their patented rudeness. If your MetroCard is being wonky or you're limping from sightseeing all day, there's a decent chance someone will help you out.” Moveto.com
Small-town Syndrome
My research verifies the veracity of this phenomenon, and I could find nothing that seems to mitigate the negative inference.
In this case, the message rings true once again. “Be the reason someone smiles today.”
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