Is it just me or is society becoming less and less polite?
I know what you are thinking already, “Kid’s these days!” but that’s NOT what I’m talking about. I’m saying that I think as our lives become faster and fuller, our manners are beginning to slip.
A couple of weeks ago, I was coming out of a store on James Street when a couple of teenaged boys met me at the door and one of them held the door for me and my girlfriend. We said, “Thank you.” and he replied, “You’re welcome.” We both commented afterwards how you don’t really see that anymore which really is upsetting but not as eye-opening as what happened a week later.
I was getting gas at a pump at the south end of Parry Sound and when I went to go inside to pay, a man in his late 40’s was coming out. I took an extra quick step to beat him to the door so I could open it for him. I did and he strolled out without a word! Me being the smart-ass that I am turned to him before heading inside and yelled, “You’re welcome!”
Is thank you that hard or time-consuming of a phrase that we have completely omitted it from our everyday vocabulary? Are our lives so stressful and involved that we don’t notice the tiny details and acknowledge them? Or maybe as we age, we forget our manners and assume that we are OWED certain things from younger people?
I’m not sure what it is, but I do know that I was raised to always be polite and no matter what mood I’m in, how much of a rush I’m in, or how old I get, I will never forget to at least say PLEASE and THANK YOU!
I can definitely see the slip in mannerism among people of all ages. Then you have people that question why children today are less inhibited in their actions/speech when they're in public, or why teenagers are disrespectful to their elders. But children are products of their environment and if we raise said children in an environment where manners aren't used on a day-to-day basis, how can we expect these children to be polite/respectful?
ReplyDeleteIt all starts at home, and although you may have been acting like a "smart-ass" when you yelled out "you're welcome!", I would imagine that if he heard you it probably rung a little bell in his head that reminded him that next time he should probably say thank you - or maybe not.
My peeve is when older people expect things just because they are older. But, no matter how many times I hold the door without a thank you or even a nod or smile of acknowledgement, I continue to do it.
ReplyDeleteAnd Jimmy, thanks-you for carrying my bag downstairs!!
Or how about when someone reaches or crosses in front of you and doesnt bother with "excuse me" standing in line at a local coffee shop and had 2 or 3 people in their 30/40's cross in front of me without a single word.
ReplyDelete