Do Manners Matter Any More?

            When did people stop teaching their children manners and common courtesy? I mean this as a totally legitimate question. (Well, maybe a little snarky.) Do parents still teach “please” and “thank you” or the common courtesy of holding the door for someone? From what I see, the answer is “no” and it seems like it stopped with the generation that raised people around my age, sadly. Talk about the majority giving the few a “bad name”.

            Maybe it’s just the town we live in. I’d like to believe that, but I’m not that naïve. I will say this is one of the “rudest places” I’ve been, though. I have not found much southern hospitality here in Arkansas. To me, it’s one of those weird states that doesn’t belong in the north or south, it’s just kind of stuck in limbo. But that’s a whole other story, I suppose.

            So, I really am curious why it seems like people are becoming more and more rude. Pardon my language, but I know I can be a bitch, but I’m also very polite. There’s a difference in my opinion. I always say “please” and “thank you” at restaurants (yes, even fast food drive-thrus!) and still frequently hold doors for people even though most of the time they don’t even acknowledge me, let alone thank me. And yet I still do it.

            Manners are one of those things that are important to me, but I can’t really explain why. I guess they’ve just been instilled in me for so long that it’s second nature and can’t understand why other people don’t use them. This is also one of those things that makes me wish I would have completely my psychology degree. I’d love to do a study/research on it, even though I guess it would be more of a sociology thing.

            We make sure to tell Myka “please” and “thank you” whenever she hands us things she shouldn’t have, handing us stuff we ask nicely for, etc. It’s never too early to make it a habit! It doesn’t cost anything, right? ;)

            What about you? Do you find manners and common courtesy important?