With great fear and trepidation I made by way to the Arapahoe County Department of Motor Vehicles today to negotiate a tricky procedure. My wife was the mastermind, of course; I am the messenger (and a very inept one). But why write of this? Again, I was able to observe public behavior during unavoidable down time. This DMV--all DMVs are "run by Satan," according to one of my students--has several rows of pews for people to wait in. I am serious: genuine, wooden pews. However, I found no crosses or altars. In fact, the room also miraculously lacked a television.
I came and took number 76. The first number called was in the 40s. This would not be quick. So, noticing the pews were pretty much filled, and not finding a pulpit to fill, I took a spot on the floor and began to read a Bill Craig paper on the kalam cosmological argument, which I would teach from later that day in Apologetics--and what fun that was! But back to the DMV. Horrible music was playing (but not too loud) in the background. I had to try to tune out cell phone chatter and the intermittent recitations of numbers by the workers. (For some reason, every time I go there, many numbers are called in vain. What happened to these people? A deep mystery, it is...: "Forty-seven, FORTY-SEVEN?! Forty-eight..." Perhaps the missing numbers experienced extreme TV withdrawl and had to scurry home to turn on a set.
While there, I noticed that only one or two of twenty to thirty people there were reading anything or even talking to each other. They were just sitting there, slouched over, with vacant and bored expressions on their faces, looking around the room or looking at nothing at all. If it were Africa, they would be talking to each other or bartering for a better number or dancing a bit. When in doubt, Africans dance. When in doubt, Americans zone out, it seems.
What does this say about us? Henry David Thoreau: "You cannot kill time without wounding eternity." The Apostle Paul: "Redeem the time, for the days are evil."
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4 comments:
I like to take an extra ticket and sell it to people who are just walking through the door for $5.
Actually, I've never done that, but I think about it every time I'm in there.
Why is it that we Americans are introverts around strangers and often overtly obnoxious around those who we know?
I've noticed this contrast quite a bit when traveling to other countries. People you've never met actually do want to talk to you, and ask you questions even... in public. They even invite you into their homes!
What is it about our society that makes us different than say, Africans, in this regard? Is it that we are too spoiled and consumed by our possessions to honor (or even acknowledge) the presence of other people?
I wonder what you all think...
Sure, other reasons exist... I was just suggesting some of the possible and even likely explanations. I did not go through all possible reasons - but your arguments seem reasonable.
What happens when we're tired? Do we go to the DMV and just stare at the floor instead of turning to the person next to us and saying "what are you in here for?" and starting a friendly conversation?
Coincidentally I went to the DMV this morning as well. Much of the same, they were calling out numbers to people that didn't exist (and it was only 7:30 in the morning, had they already gone?). I sat next to a guy who looked to have Arab heritage. The way that he looked at me made me feel like we were at odds with each other... so I cheerfully said "good morning!" to him, hoping to have a conversation. His response was an "approving" sort of nod, then he looked down at the floor, and then he turned his head the other way.
The guy on the other side of me was immersed in "flight instructor" magazine.
So I sat and waited while there were a good 6 to 8 employees behind their desks, but only two were actually calling out numbers and helping customers. That was frustrating.
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