"Peter R." wrote

I was thinking from the angle of basic human compassion, not government
level
intervention. You only need to consider a typical US highway to see a
world
of people who just don't give a **** about each other.

I have to agree, and it didn't used to be that way.

For instance, in the past people wouldn't bring their young children into
restaurants and allow them to exhibit extreme behavior out of consideration
for the other patrons. Now these people believe that their "right" to bring
their screaming kids into any public place outweighs the rights of the rest
of the people who are paying the same price and would like to enjoy a nice,
quiet evening. Ditto for theatres, airplanes, and stores. When I was a kid
my parents would apply an immediate "correction" if I got out of line,
especially if it was in a public place.

Same goes for people with pets. They believe it is their right to buy a
dog, tie it up outside, and let it bark all night. No consideration for the
neighbors - after all, it's natural for a dog to bark and their "right" to
own a pet outweighs everyone elses right to peace and quiet.

Same goes for driving - people will pull out into traffic with no
consideration for what the next vehicle might have to do to avoid the
obstacle they have just created. After all, their time is more important
than everyone else's and you have brakes, don't you?

Tolerating poor behavior from your children in public sends them a message -
the message is that it is fine to do whatever you want, wherever you want to
do it, and there are no consequences for doing so - there might even be a
reward. If that doesn't teach them not to give a **** about other people, I
don't know what would.

BDS