Civility

I've been thinking about this a lot.  Last night we attended a meeting of the Draper City Planning Commission.  To call it civil would be an overstatement.

I was fairly upset by the behavior that I saw there.  As was my husband and a member of the Armed Forces that we also spoke to afterwards.  We didn't really speak to anyone else.

And the tyrannical behavior wasn't by the people in attendance.  It was by the person in charge.  Rarely have I seen an adult treat another with the complete disdain and total lack of even the most basic common courtesy as I witnessed last night.

All day long I've wondered why some people think it is ok to treat another so rudely and with such arrogance and condescension.  I have not a doubt that this man would simply not tolerate such treatment were it directed at him.  Yet, somehow he finds it appropriate to act with the maturity of a young teenager.

This man is responsible for maintaining an appropriate, professional and respectful atmosphere in the meeting.  Does that make him exempt from even the simplest acts of courtesy?  (Who will police the police?) Apparently he thinks it does, his actions spoke volumes as to what in my opinion his character must be.  And today I find that he is himself an attorney.  Someone who surely is aware of proper courtroom (meeting) demeanor.

I've commented often in the last couple years that people seem to be on edge.  The unkindness that we witnessed last night was only the tip of the iceberg - from co-workers to people driving on the streets, to other citizens of the city (the other night our daughter was stopped by a policeman because the lights over her rear license plate were burned out.  Seriously?  Nothing better to do? And who would even know that was the situation - you can't see the back of your car when you're driving, the only time that would be evident.) to even fellow church members.  It makes me so sad and discouraged.

And yes, I think I'm also on edge.  I'm weary of mistreatment of people because of hidden agendas or selfishness/laziness.   Not a good place to be heading into the Christmas season - the season of brotherly love, etc.

On a different note: we woke up to hail this morning.  Generally a hailstorm will last 5 or ten minutes.  Not so today.  It went on for the amount of time it took me to get up and dressed and halfway through my hour on the treadmill.  The Husband kindly took this picture right at the beginning of the storm.  This hollyhock had lots more hail in it's leaves later on.

It has continued to snow the entire day.  Winter has come.  We went straight from summer / Indian summer (yesterday's high was 68 degrees) to winter - todays high was only in the upper 30's.

And in spite of all the grim-ness we seem to be seeing / feeling, I'm grateful tonight for a snug warm house.  And hoping for a reduction of discouragement in the days. to come.  Wish me luck.