The hill I will die on: Remove those earphones – you’re blocking out the music of humanity | Stefan Stern

I’m sorry, but would you mind taking your … I SAID, WOULD YOU MIND TAKING THOSE EARPHONES OUT FOR A SECOND, PLEASE? But this patience is being tested to breaking point by the proliferation, the epidemic, of almost-ubiquitous earphones. But instead of taking part in all that, people prefer to plug in their earphones, tune in and drop out. Would he have ever heard the “still, sad music of humanity, / Not harsh nor grating, though of ample power / To chasten and subdue”? OK, maybe it is polite on the bus or the train to stick the earphones in and avoid creating noise pollution.