We're all selfish now

A meditation on what the on-demand economy has done to us.

Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash

So there I was, cruising home from preschool drop-off with coffee in hand and a pep in my step. Two young women walked towards me, side by side, taking up the width of the narrow sidewalk, and as they marched closer, I shifted as far right as I could so they could pass single-file on my left. 

But whatever Unspoken Rules of Pedestrian Traffic the rest of us have agreed to, these ladies would not be abiding.

Instead, the woman on the right brushed past me, thwacking her shoulder forcefully into mine without so much as a glance my way. Onward they went, bulldozing through the family behind me, chatting as if none of us existed, their lateral tête-à-tête more important than sharing space with (or certainly acknowledging) anyone else on the sidewalk.

So as I rubbed my shoulder and continued home, I got to wondering—when exactly did we all become so selfish?

Photo by Ivan Aleksic on Unsplash

I live in San Francisco, where the billboards advertise startups, driverless cars glide by as you walk the dog, and where you overhear things like this.

Whether for you the city veers ridiculous or sublime, innovation is inarguably woven through its fabric. That embrace of progress—of the new—results in a place full of early adopters. It also means the rose loses its bloom early, too.