Where have all the manners gone?

 

 

After doing our shopping this weekend something odd hit me, where have all the manners gone? The way I was raised was to have basic manners. You hold the door open for people, respect your elders, help people out without being asked, say thank you and please, the whole shabang.It was just a natural reaction, when you see someone drop something, you pick it up and give it back. If an elderly lady is going through a door the same time as you, you hold the door open and let her go first. General manners that seem like they should occur without being said. Common knowledge right?Well, apparently not. First, when I was leaving Walmart with my family, I saw a man walking perfectly fine walk up quickly, cut an elderly man (with a cane mind you) off and take the last motorized wheel chair. I couldn’t believe it. My jaw dropped. The elderly man was clearly more in need of the chair than the other man yet it was rudely taken from him. It was even done in such a manner that because the elderly man moved too slow the other man had gotten to it first, and he clearly saw the elderly man was walking to it. It just leaves me pondering, what is wrong with people.Later that day as my family and I entered the grocery store I saw a woman drop a $10 bill from her pocket. Another woman reached down and tapped the original woman on the shoulder and handed the money back. I watched in amazement because I couldn’t believe I just saw a kind act for the first time in such a long time. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen someone do something nice like that. Most people would have pocketed it.This leaves me wondering when did it become unusual to see acts of kindness? Shouldn’t it be in our nature to do these simple acts of kindness? We should not be in awe when we see someone help a complete stranger out. How are we to move forward in life, in humanity, if we can not do these simple acts.This leaves me to say, next time you see someone struggling to lift something, hang up the cell phone for a minute and help them out. If you are walking into the bank and some woman is juggling 3 kids, hold the door open. We need to get back to the point in society where rudeness is not tolerated. It all starts with one simple act. Teach your kids these general manners so they are not long lost in the future.

If a few people start to make these simple changes, it will have a chain reaction through out our families, communities, and society. By you taking the time to carry out a simple act you can brighten someones day, put a smile on someones face, and even change someones perspective on life. So please take the time to practice a few simple manners.