Manners……………  by ric justiss



There was a time when good manners were commonplace.  Young adults
answered with the customary "Yes, ma'am"  and "No, sir," gentlemen tipped
their hats and neighbors banded together to welcome new families.

We were gracious in conduct and courteous in demeanor, contributing a thread
of gentility to our surroundings. Sadly, I had to watch old episodes of Leave It to
Beaver to come across manners like that.  Welcome to 2006.

We are different today—an era of fast cars, fast food, fast
computers and dwindling tolerance. Civility seems doomed to extinction. It
should have its own glass case alongside Archie Bunker's chair in the
Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Rudeness is a problem.

We have become a people where blatant disrespect is everyday: a surly bunch
of unchaperoned schoolchildren with full reign of the classroom.

Take our behavior behind the wheel, for example. Remember the days when a
car ride was a pleasant event? Neither do I. Our daily commute can be as
treacherous as the Indianapolis 500.

And God help us if traffic is at a standstill. The language is fouler than the fumes
in the air.

Rudeness has many faces.

Lack of manners for Americans is not whether you confuse the salad fork for the
dinner fork. It's about the daily assault of selfishness—inconsiderate behavior.

Rudeness can be found in high schools where fierce competitiveness
dominates the popularity game and in the workplace where the "kill or be killed"
philosophy, once the underbelly of ambition, is now the standard.

Insolence is like a cancer. Simply put, it is a question of sides.

Some favor a well-mannered society and will stifle their rudeness.
The others are the conspirators in the quickening demise of civility and respect.



Aug. 6, 2006
Just My Opinion