Do you know “The shopping cart theory.”

I don't know if it's because I'm getting older or just getting crankier. I think there's something wrong with me. Things that would not have bothered me even 10 or 15 years ago just seemed to tick me off a little bit. 

Have you noticed when you go to the grocery store that apparently some people just don't have the capacity to put their shopping cart away. Rather than putting their shopping cart in the designated shopping cart caddy in the parking lot, they just leave them anywhere. You find them in the middle of parking spaces. On sidewalks. And handicap zones. 

I was talking to my son John about this, and he says that it is even found its way on to the Internet. They're calling it “the shopping cart theory”. According to KnowYourmemes.com,
“The Shopping Cart Theory is a social theory that states whether a person returns a shopping cart or not after using it serves as an ultimate indicator of whether they are a "good" or "bad" member of society. The theory argues that returning a shopping cart is a moral choice that shows whether a person is capable of doing good without being forced to do so.” 

I'm not sure that I totally buy in to the premise of the shopping cart theory. I think it just has to do with whether you're lazy or not. For me, it's a binary choice, either you're too lazy to take the cart back to wherever it needs to go and not inconvenience other people. Or you're in such a hurry that you don't possibly have enough time to put the cart back. In that case, I guess you’ve got to’ go. 

I try to be the person that puts the cart back where it needs to go. There's no place I must be that is more important, that is so urgent that I don't have enough time to put the card away. Sometimes I feel a little guilty for not taking another cart with me. The poor things are just sitting out there in the middle of the parking lot. Nobody cares about them, They're so lonely. 

So, is it a telltale sign of the decline of our society? Or is it just that some people are lazy? 

What do you think?