Manners Matter

What has happened to manners and common courtesy?

People brush past a tired mother who is struggling to open the door with her arms filled with groceries and clinging toddlers....Drivers on the road cut others off...children scream and cry for the candy at the cash register...pedestrians can hardly get across the street safely because of drivers who tend to speed up instead of slow down.

It’s a “Me-first, give-me-all-you-got, I-don’t-care-about-you” mentality. Is there such a thing as common courtesy anymore? It is more of a “rare” courtesy.

Do manners even matter?

As we see our society drifting away from it roots, old-fashioned courtesy has faded away and been replaced by a self-centered focus. “Forget about everyone else, what do I want?” is the question of the day. Anyone can just read the front page of a newspaper to see how that self-centered attitude has made our nation into a turbulent, dangerous culture of crime, hate and greed. We live today in a world of a lot of unhappy, broken-hearted, lost people. Now more than ever we need to live the Golden Rule. “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

So what are manners?

Here’s a simple definition: “Manners are the outward expression of a person’s inner character.”

Dear friends, I urge you, to re-connect with your roots and begin rebuilding our character.

Our country was founded on these principles. Our founding fathers had a solid faith and had characters of real integrity. Ben Franklin advised:

“Speak modestly,
do not put self above others,
do not be easily offended,
do not retaliate injuries,
try not to offend others,
look for the good in both friend and foe,
be cheerful and pleasant,
and freely express affection to friends and loved ones.”

How refreshing it is to see a polite young boy who continues to open doors and carry heavy loads for people? Just a warm smile and a kind word to a busy clerk can make her day and help her to face the complaining, demanding customers.

It makes me excited to think of all the ways and things we can do to become more courteous. Just small gestures of kindness can speak volumes to people burdened with the world’s problems.