A few months ago I was very worked up about bi-lingual road signs. What was the point, I asked, when only a small minority of the NI public speak Irish and the daily language usually spoken is English.
Now I'm much more sanguine on the issue. So what if road signs are single or dual language? What harm are they doing to anybody? There are more important issues to get worked up about.
Likewise I used to get very agitated about all the union jacks flown on lamp posts and outside houses. But hang on, all they're doing is marking out territory and declaring patriotism. Flags can't be violent or anti-social (though their owners might be).
So now I'm no longer bothered by them, they're just part of the scenery.
But people do get unnecessarily steamed up about all sorts of issues - traffic jams, internet glitches, bad table manners, someone sniffing, having to queue, rude shop assistants, to name but a few.
People don't just say, that's annoying. They explode with anger and impatience as if something utterly appalling has occurred. Why oh why? We all need to be more philosophical about life's minor irritations.
With so much unbelievable happening here on a daily basis, there is no room for agitation over nothing. There is a constant flow of real life matters to cause anger and outrage,
ReplyDeleteSandra: Very true. The phrase fiddling while Rome burns comes to mind.
DeleteAh but what is a minor irritation to some is a huge problem to others!
ReplyDeleteLiz: Indeed. Some people get incredibly worked up about bad table manners!
DeleteI suspect sometimes the anger has a different source but the irritant gives a reason to express it. Sometimes it's not safe to express anger to the true source of it.
ReplyDeleteLinda
Linda: I think you're right. They may be expressing their real anger in a more acceptable way.
DeleteYes, people do get very steamed up on certain subjects. They also get rather hot when you don't agree with them.
ReplyDeleteMary: Yes, people can get really overwrought if you happen to disagree with them.
DeleteBeyond your health and having food and shelter, there's not anything that important to have a hissy fit over.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Very true, but somehow we find all sorts of trivial failings to get worked up about!
DeleteBilingual signs, I applaud. Flags not so much. Patriotism quickly becomes xenophobia and jingoism.
ReplyDeleteDavid: Absolutely, fervent patriotism can quickly turn into something quite abhorrent.
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