Response to, "I'm O.K., but You're Not"

    Our world is inhabited by billions of people who have billions of differing opinions. While in most situations there is rarely a right or wrong answer, many people enjoy believing that everything they do and say is the only way to view a situation. In the essay, “I’m O.K., but You’re Not”, which can be found on page 31 of The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers, the author Robert Zoellner discusses his experience at a restaurant with a very hypocritical couple. Robert Zoellner admits to smoking three to four packs of cigarettes a day and has done so for about 40 years of his life, so when he arrives at a restaurant, he knows he will be sitting in the smoking section. He is seated at a table that is literally five feet away from a table in the non-smoking section, but since he is technically in the smoking section, he decides to light up a “breakfast” cigarette. Soon, a well-dressed couple walks into the restaurant and chooses to eat their meal in the non-smoking section. Basically a minute after they are seated, they clearly become annoyed with Robert’s smoking habit. Robert is quickly asked by the man to stop smoking immediately, which leads Robert to point out that he is technically not doing anything wrong because he asked to be placed in the smoking section. The couple, visibly annoyed, eat their meals quickly and quietly and then leave the restaurant to go jump into their gas guzzling vehicle. In the vehicle are two poodles who clearly were in need of a “potty break”. The dogs do their “business” on the restaurant’s lawn, and without picking up the waste, the couple gets back into their car and drive away. Robert watches the whole escapade and finds them completely hypocritical. They had asked him to stop doing something that they found gross, while they didn’t have to stop doing things that he found gross.
    I found this story to be one that I believe many people can relate to. When people feel so strongly about something, they take comfort in believing that they are right and people with opinions different than theirs are wrong. This obviously should not be the case, but as they say, ignorance is bliss. While many people enjoy living their lives in an ignorant state, there are also people out there who are open minded. Personally, while I do have strong opinions, I find it interesting to listen and process through others opinions as well. I believe it can be helpful to hear others opinions because it can either help me validate my opinion more, or slightly alter it. Either way, I don’t feel the need to penalize others for having different opinions than me. After all, opinions are important in creating diversity.
    In conclusion, I really enjoyed reading this particular essay because it made me remember that there are people out there who lead ignorant lives. While I do also believe smoking is disgusting and I would probably have been offended by the smoke in the restaurant, I would not have singled out the smoker. Sure it would be annoying, but I am aware that I do things that annoy people as well. It’s all about remembering that we live in a free country where we can choose to live our lives how we want to. So while the non-smokers found Robert’s actions rude and gross, they are in the wrong when they ask him to stop. In situations like this, we need to step back and take a moment to think it over. We need to realize that we are only in control of ourselves, and nobody else. The mentality that “what I do is perfectly okay, but what you do is perfectly awful”, is not correct, but rather very ignorant, and until that mentality is changed, the world will continue to clash on the rights and wrongs of societies.