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Devan Lutz: When did we start leaving decency out in the rain?

Devan Lutz, IC Columnist

Imagine my surprise when I walked out of Gillham Hall to a downpour that was operating on a monsoon level. I probably wouldn’t have been so caught off guard if I had bothered to check the weather, but that’s beside the point.

There I was with no umbrella, and a car that, at that moment seemed so far away it might as well have been in Sylvania. I made the decision to suck it up, clip my book bag shut and just go for it. I mean, it’s just water, and I actually kind of enjoy walking in the rain — but usually not with books and a smartphone.

So, as I’m walking with the herd of umbrella-clad, anxious-to-get-to-class students, I found myself thinking: “Oh that guy’s umbrella is big, maybe I can casually creep under it; we’re practically walking shoulder to shoulder anyway.”

But I didn’t, and continued to walk alongside all the dry, well-prepared students, only occasionally passing another poor, unprepared, umbrella-less soul.

Now granted, yes, I am the one who forgot my umbrella and nobody owes me anything, but when did we lose our sense of compassion and empathy for our fellow man? How did we become people who won’t even lean in to share a little shelter from the rain with a fellow student who we are walking side by side with?

It didn’t even really strike me until I saw two girls waiting at the crosswalk by the East Ramp. One girl had an open umbrella in one hand, and another unopened umbrella in her other hand, while the second girl standing right next to her who obviously forgot her own umbrella was getting drenched on her way to class. The two girls proceeded to cross as I did, and as we crossed paths, I turned to watch as the two girls walked shoulder to shoulder on that same sidewalk.

Not only did the girl with two umbrellas not offer her second one to the girl next to her, at least until they had to part ways, but she didn’t even have the kindness to lean in and share a mere corner of her umbrella with her fellow University of Toledo student, who was by then sopping wet.

Now, I didn’t really expect anybody to share their umbrella with me when I decided to just go for it and walk all the way without. But, I guess the fact that I didn’t even expect anyone to help me, is what truly breaks my heart the most.

These days we all try to portray the best image of ourselves online, we all boast about our huge, caring, philanthropist hearts and we all “stand” for one cause or another. But do we really? It’s easy to portray being a good person when it’s a trendy online challenge that not only makes you look like a caring person, but also gets you a lot of attention in the process.

Why take time out of your weekend of homework and partying to actually go do charity work, when I can just say I stand for a cause and that I donated a few bucks on Pay Pal, right?

It’s basically getting instant gratification, and growing accustomed to getting gratification that you didn’t truly earn. Why not try actually living by the set of values you portray to others? Ever think about how that would actually make you feel about yourself, and not just how it would make others feel about you? Doing kind things, even if no one else ever knows you did them, will increase the respect and value you hold for yourself, and not only that, but your caring spirit might just rub off on a few of the people around you too.

If we know that people view doing good and caring about others as an admirable quality, one we clearly all wish to portray, then why is it still so hard to show some compassion when put in a situation that actually requires us to?

When we see a fly trapped in our house, why don’t we just let it out? Why is our first reaction to kill it? When we know that someone will eventually end up pushing our shopping cart back to the store or even just the cart corral, why do we still so easily just leave it and drive off?

Little everyday things like that may not seem important, but they are what truly make you a good person, not following a trend and dumping a bucket of ice water on your head, then donating ten dollars merely because everyone else did. Yes, the money and publicity is great and really helps charities. But with everyone living behind a screen these days, it’s easy to get caught up in the “pics or it didn’t happen” mentality.

However, not only would spreading the love benefit our society as a whole, but you would be surprised how it helps you love yourself a little more as well.

So by all means, please continue to spread awareness about diseases such as ALS, and please continue to do the cancer awareness runs with your sorority sisters. But take a moment to stop and live in the now and do good things in your daily life, be a good person even when no one is watching merely because it feels good to do the right thing, and deep down you know that it makes a difference to someone.

So, on the next rainy day on campus, if you see a fellow student caught without an umbrella, look inside your heart and just lean in.

Devan Lutz is a third-year majoring in communication.

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