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Wiener is a third-year political science student.

By Steven Wiener

Everyone has his or her solutions to fix the world. Unfortunately, either for lack of motivation or power status, a person has limited opportunities to implement their plans. Even though we may not be able to resolve world issues on an individual level, we can strive to make ourselves better people and hopefully influence others around us to follow suit.

Take for example, our college campus: UCLA. After being here for two years and studying my surroundings, I can easily make a laundry list of problems with our school. My main focus for the purpose of this article will be on social interactions among individuals. More specifically, I would like to touch on first impressions and the lack of courtesy granted to others in these types of situations.

Theoretically, we have several opportunities every day to interact with individuals. An event such as this that most of us go through every day is the long haul to and from campus. It still amazes me how some people can walk to and from class and pretend that they are the only person in existence. Unless you know someone, very few people bother to exchange salutations much less make eye contact.

The lack of fundamental acknowledgement of others is something that bothers me to the utmost extreme. I have elected to take advantage of opportunities where I can show random acts of kindness to others.

The main problem is that people our age tend to be impolite and sometimes blatantly rude. Whether societal norms have diminished or parental techniques have faltered, succeeding generations are less courteous and respectful than preceding ones. As a society, our manners and the way we treat others has diminished with time. Anytime someone mentions another country, their response is always accompanied with a mention of how “friendly” the inhabitants were.

Realizing that we dwell in the quintessence of superficiality and materialism, I understand why people subterfuge their endearing qualities for the sake of image approval. Most of us, however, try to tell ourselves that we are “good” people. Just because we live in Los Angeles, doesn’t mean we have to succumb to the stereotyped tendencies of the area.

From my own personal experience, I can tell you that being friendly is not all that difficult. When I stroll to class, I carry a smile on my face, eliciting different responses from people I pass by. Some people come around and cordially smile back, while others look at me like I am a crazed, drooling beast. These types of people cannot get over the shock of being greeted by someone with whom they have not had prior contact.

It really should not be all that surprising to have another human being contact you. We are social animals and it is only natural that we express ourselves by exchanging verbal communication.

In addition to the unpleasant elicited responses, others simply pretend that they do not hear my friendly greeting. These types of people perhaps think that they are too good to bother responding to a stranger. Apparently, they already have enough friends and acquaintances, so they feel that it is would be an unnecessary waste of time to show fondness to others.

Often the individual will pass with nose raised toward the sky, an obvious indication of snobbery. My favorite response is when I say “hi” to someone who is with a friend or two. Right after they pass me, I hear an outburst of laughter. I can just imagine the dialogue. “Like Oh my God, can you believe that freak who I didn’t know said like, hi?” Well, perhaps these were people who I might be better off not knowing.

But then, there are those sympathetic souls who find enough courage and camaraderie to muster up the confidence and return my verbal acknowledgement. In these spontaneous and thrilling occasions, the trend is reversed. Some people really are considerate and have manners. As you can see, saying “hello” to people draws different reactions and to the people who respond affectionately, I applaud their kindness.

Isn’t that amazing? At our school, it is surprising to find others who are courteous and friendly. But the fact of the matter is that we are all people and if we could just look past the surface, we would find that it is relatively simple to be pleasant with one another.

And when you do get that return smile or “hi” back, it is self-satisfying. The openness and warmth that you have bestowed upon an individual is suddenly returned to you. In that one instance, you have influenced another person to think and act differently.

Enjoying the simple pleasures of life and becoming a better person are life long processes. It is that simple (a smile, or a simple word) to encourage others to improve our communal surroundings and social interactions. So, if some random guy says “hi” to you tomorrow, return the favor.