I have deep thoughts at gas stations.

I was filling Thelma (my truck) with diesel and a 5 gallon can with unleaded. As I was working the nozzle into the can, the owner gently took it out of my hands, smiled and shooshed me toward the truck with a wave of his hand. "Ladies shouldn't pump their own gas."

I was on my way home from the ranch. I'd been working in the paddock - digging trenches ahead of the winter rains and organizing tack. I was filthy, disheveled and looked like anything but a lady.

 What a welcome surprise. He gets my business forever!

But then my reaction got me thinking. Why was I so surprised? After all, respect and common courtesy are fundamentals of any civilized society, right? Then a strange question popped into my head.

Are we really civilized?

 My knee jerk answer was "Of course we are!"

But then I started thinking. His behavior was the exception, not the rule. Most places guys would stand and watch while I pumped the gas and hauled it into the back of Thelma. It's rare to have a stranger offer help of any kind these days. But it goes beyond that sort of apathy.  I see at least one display of rudeness every day. I hear people yelling at each other in grocery stores, raging at strangers while driving. We aren't exactly nice to each other sometimes, now are we?

We're losing some of our civilized behaviors.

Then there's business. Wall Street wasn't a great display of civilized honor and integrity. Greed and cheating are common business practices. Backstabbing is a form of career advancement for many. Even the little things paint a sad picture - the rudeness and apathy of telephone support reps, the receptionist who barely looks up from her magazine to acknowledge your arrival in her employer's lobby. 

From apathy and disrespect toward our customers to rudeness and backstabbing in the workforce to lying, cheating and stealing to 'get ahead' - our civilized world seems to be devolving.

Some say we are following the path of ancient Rome and Greece.

I hope they're wrong.

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I'm waxing all this week about our civilized world, or lack thereof. PLEASE join me in comments and discussion. I want to hear your perspectives too!