Words and actions

There is a work colleague I've known for years who complains about how we as a society treat each other "like crap."  He posts frequently about this on Facebook and considers himself an activist for various rights causes.  Yet in his daily life, he is quick to brush people off, to ignore people who don't serve a purpose to him, and to make jokes about issues close to other people's hearts if those issues don't interest him.  I have a hard time reconciling his wish for more kindness in society, and how he seeks to effect that change, with his too-frequent disregard for it as it relates to the people around him in his day-to-day life.

Another acquaintance expressed to me months ago, leading up to the election, her wish that someone would assassinate one of the Presidential candidates, specifically saying that person "has no respect for people."  This colleague is late every single day of work and frequently leaves early, always relying on other people to pick up her slack, with never so much as a thank you or an apology.  She has a persistent chip on her shoulder towards others and sometimes lets out with catty eyebrow-raising remarks.  She wants the world to be more respectful, but from what I see, she lacks respect towards her colleagues in her daily life.

A third acquaintance said at work one day that anyone who didn't protest to try to get the Electoral College members to be faithless electors was "just part of the problem."  A few hours earlier I had witnessed him completely ignore a new employee when she said hi and tried to introduce herself, and he continued to ignore her throughout the day when she tried to join in in conversation.  She later said to me, "I guess I'm not cool enough for him."

What does it mean if we want change on a large scale but won't incorporate that change into our own small interactions with people?  How can we possibly change society at large if we won't change our own daily interactions with the people who make up our own personal society?