The Loss of Manners

There once was a time in this country, in this world, when people had manners. They might not have cared about their fellow earth dwellers, but for the most part people tried to get along.

In this modern time of ours, manners seem to have disappeared. Courtesy and decency are things of the past. People have become rude, self centered and inconsiderate. Road rage is no longer a major news story but a common occurrence. Shootings over who holds the television remote are becoming more frequent. Anger holds sway in the vast majority of households. Violence has gone from a last resort to the first reaction.

There's a book that, oddly enough, is a best seller. Most houses in America has a copy of it, as does a lot of the English speaking world. If asked, however, most people have never read it, or done more than skim through it. The name of this book is The Bible. In this book is a set of rules for living a good life, and a large number of people that I know personally claim to live by these rules. Sadly, too many of them can't live up to this claim.

One of these rules states something to the effect that you shouldn't tell lies. Sound familiar? Maybe you've heard "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor"? Sounds easy enough, doesn't it? I can tell you, though, entirely too many people that show up to church every week and listen to sermon after sermon couldn't tell you more than half of these rules, and live by even less.

People, it's easy. You don't have to care what people think of you. It's really not that important. However, you should have some consideration for those around them. Being polite is a good start. Have some consideration for your fellow man or woman. Don't spread rumors. Remember the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Treat people the way you would like to be treated.

Think about it this way: If you treat people the way you would have them treat you, they will treat you the same way. If everyone did this, if everyone treated others the way they wanted to be treated, this world would be a much better place.