There’s a attitude that has developed in this country that’s become more and more prevalent over the past few years. Simply put, more people are assholes. Now while assholes in society is hardly a new concept, the more recent attitudes towards it are frightening.

Being an asshole is not a virtue. It’s sad that I actually have to say this to people, but everyone with even the slightest lack of self-esteem has gotten it stuck in their heads that in order to be the funny guy at the party, you’ve got to be an asshole. What is worse, more and more people enable this behavior. Stop it. The person is not the second coming of Denis Leary and you’re not helping their ego any by encouraging them.

Let’s say you’re out with your asshole friend, he’s driving the car and you’re in steadily moving traffic. Your friend gets impatient and starts cutting people off and making snide remarks and/or hand gestures to the other driver. Don’t laugh at them and high-five; let him have it. He’s an asshole and you are the only person standing in the way of the guy in the Suburu behind you with the Arfcom handle “DeathOwnzJ00″ finally snapping his last tendrils to reality when your asshole friend cuts him off. “DeathOwnzJ00″ probably has enough firepower to bring traffic to a screeching halt for the better part of six hours — all because you didn’t tell your asshole friend to knock it off.

Another example: You and your friend are out at the bar and he spots some hot little blonde number (don’t ask me why, but assholes prefer blondes) and initiates the process of throwing her some vibes. It soon becomes apparent that she’s actually wearing a wedding ring and she’s with her husband and the two of them appear to be nauseatingly happy with one another. Your friend, with his freshly bruised ego from not noticing she had on a rock he could never afford, gets it stuck in his head that he’s going to punish the husband. It’s key that you remember to stop him from overhearing what they order, sneaking into the kitchen and loading it up with cayenne pepper and watching the husband going into convulsions after he takes the first bite as your friend howls in laughter. After all, that guy happens to be a lawyer who sues the pants off of the bar owner causing him to close his business in the face of a crippling lawsuit and you two are stuck with TGIFridays. Needless to say, your asshole friend will blame the lawyer. It is up to you to stop him. For godssakes man, take one for the team — Tell your friend to stop being an asshole.

I guess I’m just concerned about society as a whole. I’ve witnessed scenes of absolutely unforgivable assholiness that stagger the imagination. There’s this new trend of assholes getting into the right-hand turn lane at the stop light only to gun the engine to cut off the 18-car backup when the light turns green. And it appears to be a communicable disease, too. I was personally almost rear-ended by a seventy-something old woman in her Pontiac Bonneville who lead-footed it out of the drive through at Arby’s, wearing a Dennis Miller smirk the entire way. She’s lucky I wasn’t “DeathOwnzJ00″ because that Bonneville would’ve made a kickin’ hood ornament.