We get used, but we shouldn't...

Have you ever 'stuck' a queue? Or have asked to someone to save a room in an event? Have you ever 'cut' one or more traffic lanes to make a conversion? Or arrived late in a bank and tried to talk the porter into a “please, let me in?”

This underlines one of the most striking features of the human being: individualism. "My need is more important than others, so I have to cut right through a left turn in traffic, and the others must understand". "My reasons for delay are real and fair, more than the others."

We all feed corruption with small gestures, with our actions, with our bad example; we always forget that we live in a society.
Why so many people throw garbage on the floor? Is it due to poor education? Do we throw garbage in the living room of our house? Do we throw garbage in our own bed? I don’t think so! And why we do it on the ground, in parks, in seas, at the beach?
Why not devote some care and love to nature? Why waist water or energy?
Why do we vote in politicians if we know about their dirty actions in the past? Corruption is not only the politics nor the politicians; we make part of it, perhaps more than they do.
What is the difference between stealing a million of dollars from public saves and steal a penny from a friend? What is the difference between defrauding your nation and defrauding your employer?

Picture this: You go to work and see that box of staples just lying on the table, than you remember that your son asked you to buy some staples for his school work. At once the box disappears from the table and appears in your child's backpack. That could not be considered a robbery?
How can we wish a society free from corruption if in our actions of day to day we practice them at all times. Corruption is more comprehensive than the acts of politicians. It's a choice we make all the time, in small gestures such as offering a sweet in return of a favor... It is the feeling that arises in the heart that causes our actions. If there is corruption in the society it must have been born first in each one of us. And it's not easy to escape the web of corruption, because once we refuse to participate in certain procedures, a revolt is formed around us as if we were meant to fit into the relative truth of each person.
Thus, our conduct should be honest at all times, in every way, even if it means personal loss.

Here I open a parenthesis to reproduce a text from Colassanti Marina who says:

I know we get used to. But we should not ...
We get used to living in apartments in funds that have no other view than the windows around. And because it doesn’t have another view, we get used to not look out anymore. And because we do not look outside, we get used to not open all the curtains. And because we do not open the curtains, we get used to turn on the light sooner. And as we get into it, we forget the sun, we forget the air and we forget the vastness.


We get used to waking up in the morning, startling because it's time; to take coffee quickly because it is running late; reading the newspaper on the bus because we can not miss the travel time; to have sandwiches for lunch because we do not have time to cook; to leave our work because it's night; to take a nap on the bus because we are tired; to go to the bed early and have heavy sleep without having lived the day.


We get used to open the newspaper and read about the war. And accepting the war we accept the deaths and accepting death we accept that there are numbers for the dead; in accepting the numbers we agree in not believing in peace negotiations and by not accepting the peace negotiations we accept reading every day, of war, of the numbers of dead, of long duration of wars.


We get used to wait all day for a phone call and at the end the calling says:”I can not go today”

We get used to smile at people without getting a smile back; to be ignored when both needed to be seen.
We get used to walking on the street and see posters; opening the magazine and see ads, turn on the television and watch commercials; going to the cinema watching advertising and we swallow them all. We get used to be instigated, led, bewildered, and released on an endless waterfall of products.


We get used to pay for everything we want and need; and we fight for winning the money to pay for that; and to earn less than we need; and lining up in a long queue to pay; and to pay more than things are worth; and know that increasingly we pay more and more; and go for more work to earn more money with which to pay on the queues.


We get used to pollution; in artificial light that slightly twinkle; to the shocking that the eyes get in natural light; to the Bacteria from drinking water, to the contamination of sea water, to the slow death of the rivers. We get used to not hear birds, to not to have roosters at dawn, to the fear of water from dogs, not to reap fruit from the tree, not even having a plant.


We get used to so many things in order not to suffer. In small doses, trying not to notice goes away a pain here, resentment there, and a riot over there. If cinema is full, we sit in the front row and twist a little the neck. If the beach is polluted, we just wet our feet and sweat the rest of the body; If the work is hard, we go for console over the weekend; and if the weekend is empty too we go to bed early and still get satisfied because there's always sleep to catch up.


We get used in order to preserve the skin not to suffer in roughness ; once we get used to avoid wounds, bleeding, dodging  the knife and bayonet to protect the heart. We get used to everything in order to save our lives which gradually wear out, and because we get used to life, it loses itself.