Or, do we give a shite if we are rude or not?
It's a new world these days, and manners aren't what they were. When I was growing up, men still opened doors down South....
Now, here in Merry Olde England, I could grow old and feeble while I wait. It's just that terminal. I know it's not a big deal, a fellow opening a door, but it does start to show a bit of the confusion we all suffer on the 'who gives a shit and why do I have to listen' scale.
It's OK to cut folks off in traffic, never let anyone out, have cart rage at the grocery store, talk on the mobile in the cinema, and let your precious pup leave little doggy turd-treats on the sidewalk for all the world to enjoy.
But god forbid if we really don't give a shit about what a near stranger is blabbering on about. You know the ones... you run in to them every 6 or 8 months at the grocery store or post office. You generally don't hang out with them because you find them annoying. You're in a hurry, and they get all excited to see you and regale you for the next half an hour on jam recipes, handmade cat treats and foot blisters.
It's not that I have any real desire to be rude, and I don't think anyone else does either (up to a point). But why aren't we working on changing the common courtesies back in to what they once were? Why is it OK to never ever let anyone else out in a traffic jam and not OK to just admit you're in a hurry and don't want to chat? Why is it OK to steal a parking space from someone you KNOW is watching it, yet make ourselves late for an appointment in the process of having a chat you would rather not have? You only had 5 minutes to buy that postage stamp, after all...
My point is that we contradict ourselves to a horrible degree in this society. I believe that gentlemen should open doors. I believe we should be honest with people, that way we are surrounding ourselves by people who enrich our lives and are OK with the truth. I believe that letting a car in front of you and giving up that extra two foot of gain in a traffic jam is fine. Kids should show manners, people should pick up dog poo.
It makes you wonder where we are going wrong, doesn't it. Kids curse their parents, groups of more than 2 walking home from a night out will disrupt a whole street, parents let small children run riot in stores. Why is all of this ignored and treated as something that just 'is', but yet....
I'll listen about your burnt roast for half an hour, miss my appointment, never buy that stamp, and up my own stress levels for.... what was your name again?
We really need to wake up, folks. Our world is becoming a rude and brutal place, and our kids are learning from the worst of examples. Any chance we can spend less time on a pint and more on helping a nameless granny with her shopping bags?
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