![\"image\"](\"http:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/image-150x200.jpeg\")
Did you hear the joke about the little boy who came home from a birthday party, and his mother asked him,<\/p>\nDid you hear the joke about the little boy who came home from a birthday party, and his mother asked him,<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you have a good time?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d the little boy replied.\u201c<\/p>\n
When you left did you thank your friend\u2019s mother for inviting you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I was going to,\u201d answered the child, \u201cbut when I was standing at the door getting ready to leave, the little girl in front of me said, \u2018Thank you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen my friend\u2019s mother said, \u2018Don\u2019t mention it,\u2019\u201d said the boy. \u201cSo, I didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe a lot of us are like this little boy, we don\u2019t know how to politely respond, because good manners are rapidly becoming extinct in our society. According to the website,\u00a0http:\/\/www.rightparenting.com<\/a>,\u00a0\u201cJust surf the net for an hour and you will Sometime ago, I was lamenting over the issue of manner extinction with a friend who is a retired ethics professor. Although she chooses to remain nameless, I can assure you the distress in her voice was genuine when she expressed her concern over the fact that as a nation we have lost \u201cbasic respect for all others resulting in the loss of good manners.\u201d<\/p>\n Wikipedia\u2019s http:\/\/www.backdrop.net\u00a0<\/a>states that the purpose for manners is to \u201cease the stress of communal living, and mannerly behavior recognizes the right of others to share communal space.\u201d<\/p>\n Once, daily conversation speckled with \u201cplease\u201d and \u201cthank you,\u201d courteous listening in conversations, prompt RSVP\u2019s to invitations, and thank you cards for a gift received were commonplace. Today gifts sent often go unacknowledged and RSVP\u2019s are frequently ignored. This might seem minimal in comparison to catastrophic issues besetting our world, but if you are the one planning a catered event this oversight could be expensive.<\/p>\n In addition, what about the grandmother or aunt, who has sent a gift card or item by mail? Of course, most givers would like a formal response acknowledging how wonderful their gift choice was, but many would settle for an email informing them the present wasn\u2019t lost in the mail.<\/p>\n My ethics professor friend assures me that if Americans would return to embracing the Golden Rule this could even help to curtail social issues like bullying. There have been books and essays written about the famous adage to \u201cTreat others the way you want to be treated.\u201d One definition of the Golden Rule is, \u201c\u2026Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them…\u201d (The Message)<\/p>\n There are folks like famous country singer, Tim McGraw, who seem to realize just how important courteous and respectful behavior can be. Lyrics to his 2016 number one song, \u201cHumble and Kind\u201d tell us to, \u201cHold the door, say \u2018Please,\u2019 say, \u2018Thank you\u2019\u2014 Don\u2019t steal, don\u2019t cheat, and don\u2019t lie,\u201d etc.<\/p>\n McGraw felt impressed to share the song\u2019s message, but he didn\u2019t write the words. Songwriter and mother of five, Lori McKenna did. http:\/\/www.tasteofcountry.com<\/a>\u00a0reports that the lyrics \u201c\u2026sprang from McKenna\u2019s concern over raising her younger children in the age of cellphones and social media, and hoping they understood the proper way to treat others.\u201d<\/p>\n For those of us who have survived parenting, remember the challenge of teaching the concept of \u201csharing\u201d to a toddler? Often, we taught by example, like sharing dried cheerios from a zip-lock bag. In the end, we cheered when our tiny charge extended their pudgy hand offering us a few pieces of their saliva-soaked cereal.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t always pleasant, and it was a long arduous process. So, it is with good manners. It\u2019s an increasingly lost art that needs to be taught and role-modeled. Let\u2019s get off our cellphones, get out those thank you notes, answer the invitations clamoring for an RSVP, and reinstate the Golden Rule whenever we can.<\/p>\n Did you hear the joke about the little boy who came home from a birthday party, and his mother asked him, \u201cDid you have a good time?\u201d \u201cYes,\u201d the little boy replied.\u201c When you left did you thank your friend\u2019s … Continue reading ![\"image\"](\"http:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/image-1-150x200.jpeg\")
come across thousands of rude, arrogant and obnoxious comments on major public sites…even in real life, people are often displaying the rude side of their persona without any remorse.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"List](\"http:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/List-of-Medicines-150x200.jpg\")
Probably most people reading this column are pretty good at common etiquette. Still, it\u2019s becoming acceptable to bemoan a hectic schedule as ample apology for dismissing social graces, but think about the legacy this creates. If we\u2019re too busy to put our phone down to listen when interacting with others, our children and grandchildren are learning not to give others their full attention as well.<\/p>\n![\"Christina](\"http:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Christina-alone-150x200.jpg\")
Christina Ryan Claypool is a freelance journalist and inspirational speaker. Contact her through her website at http:\/\/www.christinaryanclaypool.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"