Do people even talk about good manners these days?  I don’t think it is a frequent topic of conversation anymore.  Maybe it hasn’t been for quite a long time now.  I am getting old and can’t remember when people talked about it more often.

I think that we should revisit this concept in society today.  It has become more and more common to accept rude behavior and in doing so, make it more acceptable.  Maybe I am old-fashioned.  But treating other people with respect should not be optional.  It should be an important part of today’s mores, just like the golden rule.

Of course, therein lies the problem.   The golden rule isn’t taught and followed as much as it did when I was growing up either.  What went wrong?  I think that a lot of little things added up to big changes in the way we view behavior.  Rudeness has become more and more acceptable.  Our culture has become more mean-spirited.

But we can change this, can’t we?  It can’t be too late!  The media that we are inundated with has paved the way for acceptance of bad manners.   And being inconsiderate of others has become commonplace.  This needs to be talked about and we need to brainstorm about what can be done to improve this pervasive attitude.  I don’t think I can come up with any solution.  But we, as a society, can and should think about this.  Is this really the way we want to live?  

One thing I know for sure.  And that is, when people come together and talk about the things that matter to them, constructive actions can take place.  You and I are in this together whether we like it or not.  And that is enough reason to make a serious effort to make our communities  more considerate and caring.  What do you think?  Am I being too sensitive?  Or, do you think that we could bring back good manners?  Maybe things can improve by refusing to tolerate rudeness.  If we model this behavior and expect people to treat us with respect, maybe good manners could eventually become an active, positive force once again.  Isn’t it worth a try?