We definitely live in a different day and time. The new mentality, even the new corporate mentality seems to be self preservation at all costs. It seems to me that there is no such thing as customer’s rights anymore. Business is designed to make all of the money it can possibly make regardless of the satisfaction of the customer. It used to be that when you purchased an item you purchased it on your own conditions. That just doesn’t seem to be the case these days.

Whenever I schedule appointments it has to be on a work day during working hours which causes me to have to make special arrangements to be seen. If I have a dental problem on Friday and the Dentist has decided that he doesn’t work on Fridays then my teeth will just have to hurt until Monday. I have actually attempted to schedule emergency surgery and been told that I would have to wait two weeks to be seen.

We just live in a time when everything moves very rapidly. Relationships seem to have suffered as a result. When I grew up I had the same small circle of friends for many years. We knew and loved each other intimately. We are still friends to this present day and I know that if I need help I can still call on them. We literally grew up together and I trusted them.

It seems people literally do not care these days. People don’t seem to appreciate help when you give it to them. I am in a customer service business where I have the ability to give huge discounts. I have dealt with people on many occasions where they didn’t have the money to purchase what they needed. Most of them don’t seem to respect the fact that I bent the rules just to help them out at all. This mentality is totally different than that of the last generation.

I had one customer who complained that I charged him ten dollars more than the estimated total after he had received the service. This was after I saved him hundreds of dollars on the original deal. I have to chalk it up to the new mentality created by the industrial age. We as a society have become impersonal because more of our interpersonal interaction is about some type of business. We have TV, radio, the internet and many other vehicles to entertain us. It seems that these things take the place of interpersonal communication. It seems as a result that we don’t know how to connect in personal communication.

The images that we see portrayed in the media do a lot to shape our perceptions also. I don’t remember seeing sex or hearing profanity much at all as a child watching TV. When I turned on the radio the music was clean and harmonious. Music was designed to please rather than to shock. The same is true of TV. Modern programs seem to attempt to assault the senses with immorality and violence. There is no possible way that the generation who watches it isn’t affected by these negative images.

Modern media displays romantic relationships as self gratification seeking adventures. They stress using the bodies of others to satisfy your own physical needs rather than establishing a true relationship. Unfortunately I can see this mentality taking hold on our society. Younger children are dressing in more provocative, revealing ways. My biggest concern is that the parents are dressing them this way. Our city schools have resorted to requiring students to wear uniforms as the result.

How do we fix our circumstances? I don’t know but changing the way that the media presents life to our children would certainly be a good start. The Good Life

Author's Bio: 

Cedric Rice is the founder of Riceland Enterprises, which is composed of several different business ventures. This company is currently located in Georgia.
Riceland Enterprises is one of several web sites that Mr. Rice owns and operates which is oriented towards consumers along with Military Ring Express, and Fragrance Oil Express