The unconscious nature of some people so often baffles me. I just simply cannot understand how some people can operate from a position of such unconscious disregard for other people and society and the world as a whole.
 
It is no secret, but Los Angeles is Burning right now. I feel like I may have used that/this title several years ago, for a blog, when there were fires all over the L.A., SoCal area. Obviously, referencing the great song by the band, Bad Religion. But, what’s going on right now is very scary and very sad.
 
The Pacific Palisade has been very badly burned. There has been an estimate of five thousand homes destroyed, so far, and the fire, as of my writing this piece, is still zero percent contained.
 
For those of you who may not know, The Palisades is an affluent community above Santa Monica and Malibu in L.A., along Sunset Blvd. A lot of very famous and important people live there. Many celebrities have lost their homes. Very sad. I know a few people who live there. I’m waiting to hear from them.
 
Some of the residences of Malibu have also lost their homes. Seeing the homes burned out along the coast is very sad.
 
There’s another fire burning, out of control, over in the Altadena/Pasadena area that has destroyed vast amounts of homes, businesses, and vegetation. The latest count is over three thousand homes and businesses have been destroyed. Plus, people have died!
 
There are other fires burning, as well. Some, like the one in Runyon Canyon was brought under control, as was the one in Calabasas, where they believe they have the arsonist under arrest. Others are still burning. Very-very sad. Very-very scary.
 
Add to that, there are people going into these communities and looting. How fucked up is that? What kind of a human being would even think about doing something so low as that?
 
But, to the point of this piece…
 
I was driving home today. There was a guy driving a junky Honda four-door in front of me. It was a two lane road, that’s had a lot of problems with geomorphic slippage recently, so I couldn’t pass him up or anything. I noticed the window on his driver side was opened and he was periodically flicking ashes off of his cigarette out the window. With the dry conditions of the vegetation in this area, his actions began to bother me. I wondered what he was going to do with this cigarette once he was done with it. A few moments later, my question was answered. He just flicked it on the ground, in the direction of some vegetation. I honked my horn.
 
I would have loved for him to have stopped and try to pull some shit with me, but he just drove on.
 
How fucking unconscious can one person be? How fucking unthinking can one person be? How fucking uncaring can one person be?
 
Now, first of all, if you ask me, any person who smokes is a fucking idiot. Have you ever watched someone die from lung cancer? I have. My father-in-law. And, it is a terrible way to die. And, if you think it won’t happen to you, think again. That’s what every smoker says. My father, who was a smoker, died from a massive heart attack at forty-eight, basically destroying the life of his son, with my mother possessing no idea on how to be, or even caring about, being a descent single mother. Plus, not only does smoking hurt the health of the smoker but it damages the health and the lifestyle of other people as smoking also pollutes the environment, and possibly starts fires, like that guy tossing his cigarette out the window today in a high fire zone.
 
So, what does this tell us? It tells us that, more than likely, we are all surrounded by some very unconscious people. …People who do not think about anyone but themselves. …People who do not care about anyone but themselves. …People who do not even ponder the bigger picture of life or even care about the effect they are having on someone/anyone else.  
 
What can we do about it? I wish I knew??? I wish we could stop people like that before they do damage to themselves but mostly to the anyone/everyone else. But, how can we? The only thing that we assuredly can do, is to not be that person. Always think about how what we are doing is going to affect that someone else. Always care about how what we are doing is going to affect that someone else.  Always be that better person who hurts or destroys no one or no thing.
 
This world is very-very fragile. Our lives are all very-very fragile.
 
Only do things to make yourself, the person next to you, the person anywhere, and the world stronger and better. Never be the person who does unconscious, possibly hurtful actions.
 
You can’t stop other people from being unconsciousness and stupid, but you can be an example about what is right and good. Be that person.