Crass, boorish behavior that was once the hallmark of the uneducated and uninitiated has found its way into the halls of wealth and power. To be fair, it was probably always there to some extent, but many find that their privilege releases them from the obligation of courtesy rather than holds them to it.
High-minded salons have be replaced by stinking sit-ins where discourse is replaced by looting and property offence. Well-conceived and drafted editorials become profane and poorly researched blog posts which spew diatribe unworthy of the public space. Fine tailoring and shoe polish are far rarer in an airplane cabin than cargo shorts and toe fungus displayed via flip flop. While the current ethos of American culture might cry out in opposition, some of us are willing to say that our nation has become too comfortable. We eat our food from paper bags while driving on the street. We talk to each other like sailors on shore leave. And, we share family secrets with strangers as we shout into our phones in the line at Starbucks.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is quoted as saying, “Good manners can open doors that the best education cannot.” He may have a point. Simple polite, direct conversation carries one through all manner of hardship. Learning that our own ease is not the ultimate objective helps us develop self-restraint and patience. Polite interactions are not a silly veneer wrapping our society as a relic of the Victorian era. Manners expose and develop a person’s character.
Please. Thank you. You are welcome. A firm and sincere handshake. Mr. and Mrs., it is good to meet you. Somehow, we’ve confused being rude for forthright, sloppy for comfortable, and dismissive for discerning. Polite company matters; and our move from it benefits no one.