Apathy

We often rant here about the accelerating decay of Western society; the very name of the blog is in reference to it. But occasionally I see a glaring example of how far we've really fallen, and it makes me almost physically ill:

Australian teenagers involved in a fatal car crash sat down and ordered takeout food as rescuers fought to save an 82-year-old man and his 72-year-old partner, News.com.au reported.

The cars collided at a roundabout in Miami, a town on Australia's Gold Coast. The teenagers were riding in an unregistered Suburu WRX with an unlicensed driver.

Residents near the roundabout were outraged when they came to the aid of the elderly couple and saw the teenagers standing motionless on the sidewalk. They said none of the teens attempted to help.

"They just stood there, and then they sat down and then someone dropped Maccas off to them," a witness told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

Using the Jaws of Life to cut the roof off the elderly couple’s van, the woman suffered from abdominal and leg injuries, while the man suffered from fatal chest injuries.

It occurs to me, in a droll sort of epiphany, that Anthony Burgess and Stanley Kubrick did us all a disfavor. They made us -- as a society -- so afraid of the possible metaphysical implications of this...



...that we now allow this to run rampant...



That's grade-A irony, for those keeping score at home. And crushingly depressing.

Happy New Year!