Wednesday, May 2, 2007
The sign says no photography. Silence should be observed at all times. I put my camera away and head inside, anxious to look around.
Click. Click. Flash!
What should have been the experience of a lifetime, visiting the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, was damaged by numerous guests’ inability to follow directions. Besides snapping away at the centuries-old frescos, they refused to stay quiet. It angered me that they treated the chapel like a tourist attraction and not a church.
I struggled to figure out why, despite being told not to, so many people took photographs and talked inside the chapel. In the end, I decided it had to be a combination of arrogance and the mob effect.
nutgraf
This attitude of “me before everything else,” be it public health, traffic laws or fine art, will eventually lead to outright moral decay.
It’s an alarming trend in our society — people assuming that they’re somehow above the rules. It’s considered cool to rebel. It’s more fun to be bad than to be good. The signs must refer to everyone except them.
The mob effect draws in those few people who tried to resist temptation. They see the signs and do their very best to behave, but upon seeing other people breaking the rules, they ask, why not them? Why should they behave and get nothing while the miscreants come out ahead? If other people are breaking the rules and not getting in trouble, it must be okay. Therein lies another disturbing trend—the assumption that coming out ahead requires rule breaking.
In the Vatican, snapping pictures in the Sistine Chapel has little effect other than showing immense disrespect and causing annoyance. In the real world, societies crumble when people, en masse, decide that they can’t be bothered to behave.
I know stealing cable is wrong, but my neighbor does it and I want HBO so I can watch “Entourage.” The sign says no smoking in this area of the restaurant, but I don’t want to move. The light turned red but I’m in a hurry, so it’s okay if I run it.
This attitude of “me before everything else,” be it public health, traffic laws or fine art, will eventually lead to outright moral decay. It may seem small and insignificant, but as it accumulates, it becomes much more damaging. The same disregard a person can show for a painting can become contempt for anything else, including other people. Taking artistic integrity away from dead men can easily morph into stealing more tangible objects from live neighbors. The bridge isn’t nearly as wide as some would believe.
Leaving the cacophony of camera clicks and calling voices behind me, I leave the Chapel and collect a souvenir that doesn’t involve selfishness: a postcard.
Hayes is a Lenexa sophomore in journalism and political science. She is studying abroad this year in Reading, England.
Matney: The viscious cycle of love and ...
You may be unwittingly feeding in to the demise of romance.
Sandal: Self-reflection, examination helps everyone make better ...
With honest and logical examination of ourselves and society, we can explore ...
Development work abroad is worth facing challenges
Working with struggling communities in nations such as Guatemala poses problems, but ...
Christian students remember fallen
“We’ve all been frustrated by the complicity shown by the Christian community ...
What Do You Know About... Flash Mobs?
Look, or you might miss it!
Mangiaracina : Life began nine months earlier
Let’s start small. People alive or dead are approximately nine months older ...
Letter: Mob rule should not decide rights ...
Couples tie knot in campus chapel
Many couples get married around the place they met. Couples who fell ...
Minster: Campus isn't a sailors' convention
People use swear words as often as articles such as "the" and ...
Minster: Follow my philosophy
The teachings of ancient philosophers have become irrelevant in the modern world. ...
Taylor Swift visits University
Within moments, a group of fans knew of Taylor Swift’s presence at ...
Donors spruce up Danforth Chapel
The Linda Stewart family helped put together renovations to provide a brides ...
Local bars get strict with dress codes
Lawrence bars are cracking down on dress codes. Several students have not ...
Ghost world
As winter approaches, downtown Lawrence’s sizeable homeless population must deal with crowded ...
Letter to the Editor: Defining the value ...
Questioning how the law affects the institution of marriage.
Minster: Breaking all the rules
Cyclists should have to adhere to traffic laws
Being friends with your ex
Break-up sex doesn't have to be the last time you see your ...
Mangiaracina: Prostitution 21st century prohibition
Legalization of prostitution will help society.
Catch of the Week: Michael Treinen
A weekly peek at a fish in the KU sea.
Graduate dreams of pro wrestling stardom
Mark Sterling travels across the country, hoping to be the next big ...
Sandal: Animal slaughter for human consumption is ...
Meat eating violates the basic human principle of causing pain for another's ...
Hall sweet home
Lawrence residents celebrate victory
It's not only KU students who get to celebrate the big victory.
Protesters must remain realistic
Good Afternoon Mrs. E
One-hundred-and-thirty-seven buildings occupy the 1,000-acre Lawrence campus and more than 100 are ...
Cohen: Marriage bill a step backward
Bill fails to address real issues of failed marriages.
Father Figure
A new breed of treasure hunters
Geocaching allows adventure seekers to search for hidden treasure using GPS navigation.
Knutsen: Use your time in college to ...
We underestimate how much we can learn from each other's opinions in ...
Love and lust in college
From one-night stands to long-term relationships, students’ perceptions of the collegiate dating ...
Buser: Manners in the skies
No need for tense situations at 20 thousand feet.
Smith: Gender equality works both ways
In the war of the roses, men are taught to treat women ...
From sports games to gospel
Several of Kansas' ex-athletes have stayed in Lawrence to hold ministry services ...
Knutsen: Today's society devalues meaning of sex
Too often TV shows fail to mention the emotional consequences that come ...
Students defy statistics, give back to community
Three KU students split their time between studying and volunteering.
The more the merrier
Malicious Intimacy
Four students' experiences with domestic violence.
Occupy KU working to localize a national ...
The group focuses on rising costs of tuition and the University's involvement ...
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Editorial: Selfish society strays from law
"It’s an alarming trend in our society — people assuming that they’re somehow above the rules. It’s considered cool to rebel."
How exactly is "our" society to blame for rude behavior at the Vatican?
Editorial: Selfish society strays from law
"In the real world, societies crumble when people, en masse, decide that they can’t be bothered to behave."
Not to get patriotic on your ass, but our founding fathers couldn't bother to follow the Crown's rules. Seems more like a building than a crumbling (at least, from the Colonies' perspective).
Also, I doubt the future Americans were breaking the rules because it made them feel "cool," just as I doubt that the "miscreants" at the Sistine Chapel took photos simply for the rush of breaking a rule. The whole idea of "so good to be bad" just doesn't work in this article. Take a few more argument classes before diagnosing society's ailments.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID