A motorist...who either forgot or did not bother to prepare for an upcoming turn.... cuts off three lanes of traffic just to make it work. These are not hypothetical situations, but a few fine Portland examples.
And obviously discourtesy is not limited to the Pacific NW, but instead rears its ugly, rotting head throughout the entire U.S. of A.
SURVEYS:
• A full 69 percent of folks who answered an August Rasmuseen Reports survey of 1,000 adults across the nation said people are generally becoming ruder and less civilized
• Nearly 70% questioned in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll said people are ruder than they were 20 or 30 years ago. The trend is noticed in large and small places alike, although more urban people report bad manners
• A mere 14 percent, perhaps those who don’t get out much, said people were becoming kinder and gentler while 17 percent were “not sure.” (Maybe they were too busy texting during a date to give the question much thought)
• Other poll results had 62 percent saying Americans were ruder to sales personnel than they were 10 years ago and, in turn, 57 percent saying the sales personnel were also ruder to customers than a decade hence.
So why are people becoming cruder, ruder and more barbaric?
We could easily blame TV and call it a day, since TV is already behind most of the world’s woes. Or we could play with a few other theories. Technology could be to blame. Rudeness often comes from loud cell phone conversations, blaring ringing in the middle of meetings and yes, folks furiously texting or yapping on their phones while out on a date or in other social situations.
Cell phones can also indirectly lead to rude driving. Drivers blabbing on cell phones are perhaps not necessarily attempting to be rude but have instead become so oblivious to the road that they have no clue what they’re doing.
Entitlement is another possibility. Some folks today act as if they are entitled to everything, from being at the front of the line to owning last 50-cent sale item in the clearance bin. They will thus push, shove or steamroll others just to fulfill that entitlement.
Lack of manners can also stem from upbringing, with parents and schools feeding kids the idea that they can do no wrong. Children are applauded simply for breathing. They are gifted with new toys and cars just because they exist. Such children grow up expecting the world and everyone in it, to bow at their feet – or at least not blink an eye when they abruptly cut the Starbucks line.
So what should we do when accosted with such crude actions?
• Only a slight majority of those surveyed – 51 percent – said they have actually confronted someone for the person’s rude behavior in public.
• A full 44 percent let it go without comment while 5 percent said they were “not sure” if they’ve ever said something about another’s uncivilized actions
Yeah right...I am not sure how people are “not sure” but wonder if they took a beating after the confrontation that could have clouded their memories.
Letting rude behavior slide might be the easiest thing to do, but it also threatens to turn us all into a stack of doormats, letting rude people claw their way to the top of the pile and continue to stomp.
Americans' fast-paced, high-tech existence has taken a toll on the civil in society. From road rage in the morning commute to high decibel cell-phone conversations that ruin dinner when eating out, men and women behaving badly has become the hallmark of a hurry-up world.
An increasing informality — flip-flops at the White House, even — combined with self-absorbed communication gadgets and a demand for instant gratification have strained common courtesies to the breaking point.
A slippage in manners is obvious to many Americans. Peggy Newfield, founder and president of Personal Best, said the generation that came of age in the times-a-changin' 1960s and 1970s are now parents who don't stress the importance of manners, such as opening a door for a female.
So it was no surprise to Newfield that those children wouldn't understand how impolite it was to wear flip-flops to a White House meeting with the president — as some members of the Northwestern women's lacrosse team did in the summer.
• A whopping 93% in the AP-Ipsos poll faulted parents for failing to teach their children well
"Parents are very much to blame," said Newfield, whose Atlanta-based company started teaching etiquette to young people and now focuses on corporate employees. "And the media!!"
Sulking athletes and boorish celebrities grab the headlines while television and Hollywood often glorify crude behavior….not to mention the parents that film their kids fighting on youTUBE.
It is NOT getting any better people. Perhaps it is time to take little Johnny out to the ‘wood-shed’ like we did when I was a kid.
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