Unfortunately a new (or maybe not so new) trend in behavior is taking over everyday life. Although it may sound like something out of Ghostbusters 2, there is an epidemic of negative emotions brought on by what can maybe only be labeled as "irresponsible adult behavior". For the sake of carpal tunnel prevention, you can just call it "IAD".

So yeah, IAD. What makes it unique? Well, the "A" is very important because it distinguishes this behavior from that of a child. Children are not physically, emotionally or intellectually developed, so there's a reason for irrational actions. Adults (for the most part) have lived life, had many varied experiences, been educated, interacted socially, etc. Therefore, it is only reasonable to assume that all of this has led to the cultivation of some amount of decency, consideration and responsibility. Sadly, such is not the case.

It may be too late. Dealing with people on an everyday basis might have very easily jaded many people to only expect the worst out of people and not really harbor any hope for a turnaround. It's not hard to see why this can happen. Basically, for whatever reason, some (most?) people have decided that the only way to be happy and have success in life is to intentionally disregard/disrespect/disparage others.

A typical day affords the opportunity to be the victim of the selfishness of others on many occasions. It can be anyone, from a careless coworker to the white trash in the next lane of traffic. It can be the mother of the uncontrollable child on an airplane or it can be the dude preparing your sandwich at Quizno's. It really doesn't matter and you never really know when someone is going to decide that they want to play the role at any given moment.

If more adults could actually take responsibility for their actions and their lives in general, IAD might not be such a problem. There's no reason it can't be better, but it'll take an unfair amount of humility on the part of those who choose to live up to the label of an adult. It's so hard to defer to the inmates running the asylum lately, but it's a good step toward actually making the situation better. However, that doesn't mean that transgressors should be excused for their actions. Laws still should be enforced (at least the important ones) and people should still be expected to uphold a certain standard of responsibility. So while there may not be a place for "eye for an eye" tactics, there is definitely a place making an example of offenders and pointing out when someone has carelessly failed to live up to their age, education and place in society.

So yes, honk those horns, roll those eyes and pass those judgments. Just be sure that you're right and there's a law or some basic tenet of decency to back you up. Don't turn it into you versus them, but rather them versus accountability.

By the way, there's no specific reason for this rant. Just something that has been coming to mind more than usual lately. That's probably not going to change anytime soon, though. Bummer.