We don’t have to be this divisive

A first-time customer walks into a store and spends $1,000. But despite his significant purchase, he is verbally harassed by several employees, including the owner. Why?

Because the customer was wearing a mask and keeping his distance. That’s it. Instead of respecting his decision, the employees — none of whom were donning masks — gave the customer attitude. They got their backs up when he placed his credit card on the counter and stepped away, sarcastically proclaiming to everyone, “This guy doesn’t want to be near anyone …. don’t go near him.” The verbal haranguing culminated with this gem from the owner: “Don’t know if you heard, but your savior Joe Biden won the election. And since he’s going to save everyone from coronavirus, you don’t need to ‘social distance’ or wear your mask anymore.” After stating that COVID was the same as the flu, he then patronized the customer by sneering: “If you’re so scared, just walk away and we’ll deliver your stuff curbside.”

Being ignorant isn’t a crime. If people want to think coronavirus is no big deal, that’s their prerogative. But why attempt to humiliate those who take it seriously? Maybe the customer had a compromised immune system. Maybe someone in his household was high-risk. Or maybe he just didn’t want to chance getting the virus that has killed a quarter-million Americans. Whatever the reason, wearing a mask was not only the recommended protocol, but his personal choice.

The owner’s hypocrisy is stunning. As a Trump supporter, he’s likely a conservative Republican. So, if true, what happened to the “live and let live” philosophy of true conservatives? Instead, he showed himself to be no different than the intolerant left — who such people claim to despise.

The primary reason for our widening divide is that many on both sides refuse to respect the beliefs of others — on damn near everything. And that’s why re-discovering the unity we once possessed is fast-approaching the status of the dodo.

It took over 1,000 years of war, but by 776 B.C., the ancient Greeks finally realized the importance of unity. And so the Olympic Games were born. Every four years, hostilities ceased, as leaders and athletes gathered in Olympia to compete and celebrate in the spirit of good will.

But more important than what occurred on those fields was what transpired off them. Greeks who had long been mortal enemies came together, enjoying food and drink with one other. It was here that ideas and philosophies were debated with vigor and respect.

By opening their minds, the Greeks created an unprecedented level of understanding. And in many instances, adversaries became allies; allies became neighbors; and yes, neighbors became friends. That led to the epiphany that Greeks weren’t that different from each other after all. And so began the Golden Age, where ideas were born that survived all the way until ... well, until now.

We have become a rude, gluttonous, self-absorbed people with little empathy for anyone but ourselves. Common decency and good manners have become casualties in our all-about-me entitlement society.

Yet not all that long ago, it wasn’t like this.

Ronald Reagan enjoyed tremendous success despite the odds stacked against him. Above all, he was a gentleman — staunch in his beliefs, to be sure, yet approachable, with a knack for listening to friend and foe alike. He valued respect and courtesy over brashness and arrogance, and carried himself with a sincerity and likability that trumped political calculation. And despite facing a Democratic-controlled Congress, The Gipper still managed to accomplish incredible things, because his opponents, such as Speaker Tip O’Neill, were also his friends. They found a way to work together, not because they had to, but because they wanted to. And that made all the difference.

Unfortunately, the idea of service has mostly disappeared. Once we had a multitude of social organizations, from the Knights of Columbus to Scouting, where members worked for the good of the community. But for the most part, they are sad ghosts of the past, casualties of those who consider anything interfering with Netflix bingewatching and Instagram posts to be sacrilegious.

Will insults and intolerance rule the day and become the “new normal?” Or will we put an end to it, right here and now, and demand that civility and respect once again become the cornerstones of our society? The choice is ours.

The Greeks did it 3,000 years ago. Why can’t we?