Wandering Along the Path: Right Speech

We returned from the cabin yesterday after waking up to smoke. It had been windy the day before, and I think one of the fires north of us changed wind direction and made for very unhealthy air. We wore masks as we loaded up our cars, and almost the entire way home the smoke was present. Right now, luckily for us, our air at home is good. We had a nice time at the cabin with our granddaughter, who is thirteen, and she loves to swim, so we spent our time on and in the lake. But people in the mountains are not masking or distancing either, and one day a bunch of people walked up to us and by us as we were picnicing and obviously settled with our canoe pulled up. No adults seemed concerned or respected our space. My husband reminded me that people acted oblivious before Covid, so their narcissism was always hale and hardy. But right now empathy is in short supply, and maybe partly because of the emotional cost of this pandemic. I can understand, but I wish they could too. Don't consciously and deliberately endanger others. It sets a precedent that may bite you later. How's that for pragmatic?!