Loss of Manners

Yesterday My Dear Friend Michelle and I met for one of our muffin dates. We had to meet in a new restaurant,as,alas,our favorite little spot closed because their rent went up and they could no longer afford it. It has been a bit since we have had a muffin date. It's a nice time for the two of us to get together and chat. Though we do communicate via email on an almost daily basis ( neither one of us are big on phone use) we enjoy sitting across from each other to touch base once in a while.

We discuss many things-our interests,our children,etc. We also discuss things that are going on in our country.

Yesterday Michelle told me about one thing that made her blood boil. She was driving along in an area where two lanes merge into one. The right lane is suppose to merge to the left,and she was in the left lane. This "gentleman" driving a Mustang was in the right lane,side by side with her,and instead of falling back and merging behind her,he decided to literally edge her over,so she had the choice of either falling back herself,or going into on coming traffic. ( She obviously opted to fall back rather than getting in a head on collision). This not only happened to her this one time,but a second time in the same day.

This lead to a discussion about the trend in this country right now:lack of decency and manners. We see it everywhere-on the road,in our politicians,and in our media. If you are rude,you get air time. Those who scream the most get the most attention. People can say the most horrible things, things that are not true or filled with hate,and they get rewarded with air time on news channels. We both find very disheartening and appalling. There is no filter anymore. People think they can do and say whatever they want,whenever they want. They don't care who they hurt,or what the consequences of their actions or words are. It doesn't matter. Frightening the public to gain votes is the norm. It doesn't matter if it's lies or not. And,sadly,people actually believe the things that are spewed at them 24 hours a day,seven days a week. News channels have become tabloid channels. There is very little factual news anymore. I used to want to be a journalist- I now mourn the death of a profession that I thought was a very important one-keeping people informed of the truth. Now it's all conjecture,theory,and political partisanship.

People think they are the only ones who matter,whether on the road,or in a line at the store. They have no patience. They think because they are in a hurry,the rest of the world needs to step back and let them through.Is this the legacy we want to leave our children? Use bad behavior to get your own way? Be applauded when you show no respect for anyone or anything? I am shocked at the way some children speak to their parents-and get away with it. It wouldn't fly in my home, I tell you that.

All we can do is keep peace in our homes,teach our children to be respectful of everyone,and have manners. Hopefully in the future that mentality will overshadow the bad behavior and loss of manners that is permeating our world right now.