Where Are Your Manners?

I've been reading a lot of articles, and watching numerous news programs discussing the recent decline in manners, and I feel compelled to say something. Having grown up in a home where manners were taught, and their use enforced, I am in utter shock at the lack of manners being taught to children, not to mention the lack of manners displayed by those who are older than me.

There are so many times on a daily basis when one should be using manners, and it was those times when I would be scolded by my mother for not exhibiting politeness, something that many others obviously didn't experience.

When going through the grocery store I often times find myself cursing my fellow-shoppers under my breath because of the pure frustration I feel over their apparent inability to realize that they are not the only shopper in the store. I am so tired of those shoppers that block a whole aisle to conversate with someone they have bumbed into at the store. I am tired of trying to quietly say excuse me, as to not sound rude, only to be ignored. Then when I finally make it through the the blockage, park my cart to one side of the aise, and stand back next to it as to not block anyone else's view who may be interested in the same product as me only to have the next rude customer interupt me shopping experience. I am referring to the customer who finds it necessary to slowly walk infront of me without so much as an "excuse me." The least you could do is speed up your pace, but no, they mosey on by, some even having the balls to stop right infront of me to contemplate what product they would like. My mother used to yell at me when I would walk infront of a contemplating shopper without excusing myself. It doesn't take that much effort, and it really does make the shopping experience so much more pleasant for those who you pass in front of.

If the rude behavior isn't at the grocery store, it is surely somewhere else. How about when you are following closely behind someone entering into the same building as you and they fail to hold the door for you, and instead let it slam in your face as you follow just five seconds behind them. I recall when I first came to college and was completely in shock at how many of my fellow students took part in this udderly rude practice. I mean really, how hard is it for you to hold the door just long enough for me to grab it. I even make the effort to jog up to the door when I notice that someone is holding it. Unfortunately, I'm not jogging all that often, because usually the door isn't being held, and so I allow it the time to safely close before I get there to avoid it slamming in my face.

"Remember to say please and thank you," was always the reminder that I recieved from my mother before going to a girlfriends house to spend the night. At my family's dinner table if you didn't say please when asking someone to pass the ketchup, you simply would be ignored. It might sound like mighty tough love, but whenever we went to a restuarant as a family the waiters would always comment on how polite we were, something I still take pride in this to this day. These days, however, it seems that please and thank you are manners reserved only for instances of extreme graditude or extreme need. It seems that we have become a society so concerned with ourselves that we reserve manners for only those instances when it stands to benefit us.

As a society we need to open our eyes. We have become so rude and inconsiderate. I too am guilty of my own moments of udder rudeness. If only we would be more polite to one another on a regular basis, we may all find ourselves a little less stressed throughout the day. You may find yourself willing to help others more often as well as finding yourself with more people willing to help you.

Thank you for reading!