Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Such a simple message but do we hear it anymore? I look around me and wonder where all of this world's humanity has gone to. Our behavior, as a society, has grown increasingly worse and worse. Here are a few things I've noticed lately that have left me deeply troubled about how we are treating others:
People do not know how to say thank you anymore. At Halloween most of the kids coming to my door just opened their bags and expected candy. They didn't even say 'trick or treat,' much less 'thank you.' What happened to saying thank you? Is it really so hard to say two words? Everyone these days has a since of entitlement. They expect everything and don't even give a thought to being thankful for it. It seems lately, every time I say thank you to someone they look at me like they have never heard it. That is truly sad.
No one has any manners anymore. This goes hand in hand with not saying thank you anymore. Since when is saying, "yes ma'am" or "no ma'am" the equivalent of saying screw you? I am serious. I can't tell you how many times I've almost gotten my butt beat because I said 'yes ma'am' to a chick. You would think I said 'you are a fat ugly pig.' One day at the grocery store I said yes ma'am to the check out lady and she not only verbally assaulted me, but she almost came over to where I was standing and hit me. I told her, "I would say yes ma'am to a three year old. My parents raised me with manners. I don't know how your parents raised you." Parents do not instill any kind of manners into their children these days. No one opens doors anymore. People will walk out and let the door slam into your face. No one is even polite anymore. People interrupt others all the time because it's always about me, me me. When is it ever about the other person?
Respect! Does anyone truly have any respect for others anymore? I look at what others are doing in my community, my city, the world and wander has everyone lost their mind? Has everyone forgotten their kindness and respect? This week alone I've had three people give out my personal information to others. Where is their respect for others privacy? It would never occur to me to give out someone's phone number or address unless I asked them first out of respect for their privacy. But people don't seem to respect privacy or anything else. My neighbor used to sit his kid on my porch and tell him to scream at the top of his lungs to just to tick me off. Did he have any respect for his neighbor? No!! No one apologizes anymore. No one says they are sorry even though it is clearly their fault. No one accepts responsibility for their actions. No one accepts responsibility for anything anymore.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The message is so simple yet so hard for us to swallow. When I was young it seemed like life was different. People opened doors, said thank you, and were generally kind to each other. Those days are over. What's it going to take for people to change and become a respectful, well mannered society? Is that ever going to happen or are we doomed to live in an evil heartless void?