As a seasoned citizen approaching age 67, I am frequently appalled at the lack of common courtesy and manners I often observe, you know simple things like taking off ones hat indoors, keeping ones elbows off the table, sitting up straight when eating, washing hands, talking loudly when it is inappropriate to do so, etc. I hope it is not just old age, but this observation of apparent decline in basic etiquette is disturbing. I know we are a less formal, more tolerant society where nearly anything goes (just watch TV any night), but give me a break.
If you want to observe the unbelievable degree of decline, just watch people dealing with shopping carts (too lazy to even put them in parking lot corrals), boarding an airplane (seat 23A is not first class), eating in a restaurant (manners what manners, excuse me I have to take this call) or attending church.
Attending church is one of my favorites; it appears that the lack of respect and etiquette in church has reached the point where pastors feel the need to remind folks what not to do. Here is what one pastor placed in a church bulletin. The sad part is that people cannot figure this out for themselves and have to be reminded like children. On the other hand, they probably behave poorly because they never were reminded when they were children.
Church Etiquette
- Please turn off or silence cell phones
- Please be keep a respectful quiet before during and after services
- Please remember appropriate clothing especially during the summer. The church should be a décolletage-free zone (i.e. no revealing clothing)
- Gentlemen, please remove hats and caps upon entering the church
- Please, no cups of coffee
- Bottle of water are not needed, you probably won’t dehydrate in an hour
- Chewing gum by anyone is not acceptable
- Please refrain from reading the bulletin, e-mails or text messages during service
- Please no iPods, Nano or otherwise
- Please do not come late or scoot out early
- Please participate in the service
I will add two of my own, your kids do not need a box of Cheerios or pretzels and they can live without toys for 60 minutes or less. Do not come dressed as if you just changed the oil in your car in the church parking lot.
We have become a society of boorish children regardless of our age. Our concern for political correctness (a misnomer if there ever was one) is making it impossible to demand good behavior in schools, on playing fields, in church and surely in politics.
What is the name of that book, the Decline and Fall …?
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
I am not yet of old age, but I can also see clearly that etiquette is not in the front of everyones’ minds. A fued often detours the brain of our nations leaders often accompanied with ignorance that if proper manners were used the deathes of many of our soldiers lifes. I wish that children were educated on the essentuality of proper decorum at a younger age. Then perhaps we shall truly make progress with the help of the new generation.
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There are those of us Generation Y folk (I’m twenty-seven) who feel the same way. I find it all incredibly depressing, especially when I see people at the young end of my generation exhibiting the behaviors I disdained in my peers even more strongly.
I hold a weekly tea social at my apartment. I’m finding I often have to watch my younger guests like one might an errant child. It’s bad enough when they pull out their cellphones during a film, but even when we are sitting enjoying quiet music and conversation the need for a stern look arises.
Compared with most young people, even my most presumptuous and raucous guests are well-behaved.
One hopes the pendulum will swing back in the other direction. In the meantime, I will continue to do my darnedest to educate and train my peers.
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Perhaps there is still hope.
Dick
Richard D Quinn Editor Quinnscommentary.com
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Those of us old enough to remember the days when a light spanking due to misbehavior was not cause for arrest will probably agree with you. Any society that lacks basic self-discipline is almost certainly doomed to eventual obscurity, if not outright dissolution. Our adults are too fat, our kids are too wild, and we are raising a class of ‘citizen’ that can’t do basic arithmetic without the aid of a calculator. Personally, I have long-lamented the ‘dumbing-down’ of the population at large. Anyone that doesn’t believe that this is the case need only look at the state of public education. The decline is palpable.
Yes, the Roman allegory is extremely apt.
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