The Case For Civility In One Word

If you want to see American culture in its rawest form try working out at 24 Hour Fitness in the middle of the night. I’m back in the Bay Area for a few days trying to satellite into the $3500 Bay 101 Rising Star and just got back from working out at one in Santa Clara.

I arrived at about 12:30am and at first I thought it might be too much for me. It was packed, mostly with young people, of all different ethnicities: Mexican, Chinese, Black, Muslim, White, etc… The music was blasting and the place had an edge to it. As I warmed up in the functional training area I felt a bit of anxiety.

After warming up for half an hour I headed over to the free weights. I found a bench near some Muslims wearing turbans doing bicep curls and speaking to each other in their own language. I was surprised to see a teenage girl with her Doberman Pinscher on a leasch, an Emotional Support Animal I’m sure.

When I finished my workout and was heading out the door around 2am, a Mexican couple in front of me were talking to each other in Spanish. When the man held the door open for me I said “Gracias”. He said “Denada” and we made eye contact. That 10 second exchange made my night.

I’ve noticed – and I’m sure you have too – a dramatic change in the complexion of American culture since COVID. For one thing, the country seems a lot more ethnically diverse as exemplified by my workout at 24 Hour Fitness tonight. For another, politeness and civility appear to have completely vanished in what I have termed “The Culture of Nihilism”.

I left the Bay Area for Davis last October because I was tired of what felt like “the war of all against all”. If America is going to survive as the culture becomes increasingly diverse, we’re going to have to learn how to get along with each other. Sometimes all it takes is one word.