Have we as Americans forgotten all about manners?
My students have never heard of the "rule" that says that gentlemen remove caps when coming indoors. I have the ladies do so as well, since the caps they wear are not part of their "outfit" but are just like those the guys are now wearing--primarily, baseball caps. I didn't wear caps as a kid/teenager, so I had to wait until I got to West Point to be taught this rule explicitly. However, a meandering down the center of any mall will show that this behavior isn't taught anymore. Heck, how many people don't even remove their hats during the national anthem at a sporting event?
Then there's manners related to how you treat a guest. Here's an example of how not to behave.
Not only is it bad manners, it's just crap. I mean we call ourselves Americans; How can we uphold good virtues and principles when we have morons who boo another country's national anthem? It's not right and those people are an embarassment to this country, not to mention the Sharks franchise. I know Im embarrassed to be associated with those ill-mannered people.
ReplyDeleteAt NASCAR races, prior to the singing of the National Athem (and after the invocation/prayer! Gasp!), the announcer asks everyone to remove their hats. Proving that it's never too late to provide some instruction.
ReplyDeleteWhat? Those Bible-thumping heathens at NASCAR can learn *sophistication*?
ReplyDeleteSome blueblood East Coast elitist just had a coronary.
Manners/etiquette are a huge issue to my husband and I when it comes to our children, who are 7 and 5. We have made it a point to train (I know some people will object to that term being used with children, but that's really what it is) our children to behave appropriately in all situations and to be polite and respectful, ESPECIALLY in all matters concerning our country. My kids will stop playing with their toys if the National Anthem comes on TV and will stand with their hand on their heart. They know as much as is appropriate at their ages about the history of our country and significance of the flag and those who represent our country in the military. We are far from prudish and we are not religious, we just want our children to have all of the tools necessary to succeed in life and to be respectful, likeable people. We want them to appreciate where they live.
ReplyDeleteKudos to you and your husband. It's sad that we've come so far that you think only the prudish or religious might act the way you do.
ReplyDeleteI have a no caps or hats in class policy for boys. I usually only have to mention it the first day, and they abide by it.
ReplyDeleteManners are dying and as much as I hate to play into it, I blame it on TV. And I specifically site Bart Simpson. Sure, they're funny, but I actually didn't let my kids even watch The Simpson until they were out of middle school. There was just something about a wise-guy kid that got under my skin. The exact same behavior in class sends me up the wall metaphorically speaking. And yet so many parents tolerate what is really rude, obnoxious, smartass behavior as cute. What's "cute" in a five year old is "annoying" in a nine year old and downright "menacing" in a teenager.I realize that much of this behavior could be counteracted, in theory, by warm and loving parental leadership BUT, I will tell you that my kids, even my 6 foot two Goth high schooler, have always been complemented on how cordial and polite they were-which in the long run has gotten all of them jobs. It's sad to see kids that don't even say thank you because they think it smacks of servility. What is wrong with simply being decent? Sadly, many of the parents are just as clueless about such things as responsibility and manners. The one things I have always heard was that manners were the oil that made social matters easier. Think of your most grating co-worker or disgusting boss and more likely than not, most of the problems resulted from a simple ignorance of basic manners.
ReplyDeleteWhat? Those Bible-thumping heathens at NASCAR can learn *sophistication*?
ReplyDeleteSome blueblood East Coast elitist just had a coronary.
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The world is simply black and white to you, isn't it? Good guys and bad guys, no in between, and the lines never cross.
W.
Just following the President's lead. Remember him turning his back on the Iraqi athletes at the Salt Lake City Olympics? Shameful. These were athletes whose only loyalty to Saddam was that they were afraid to quit the team because his evil son would have them killed. And we knew that, we knew the conditions of their service, and our President turned his back on them when they walked into the stadium for the opening ceremonies.
ReplyDeleteBut what do I know... I'm just a knee jerk tax and spend blueblood liberal from Worcester, where everyone takes their hat off for the National Anthem.
No, anonymous, I *don't* remember the President's turning his back on Iraqi athletes at the SLC games. Do you have a *legitimate* news source to back up that claim? I won't accept your claim until you provide one.
ReplyDeleteJust another example of those blueblood east coasters:
ReplyDeleteTo the Editor:
Re "In the Garden, Graduates Boo McCain. Kerrey, Too" (news article, May 20):
As one who holds a degree from the New School (Ph.D. in political science, 1975), I am embarrassed by the reception given the graduation speaker, Senator John McCain, and Bob Kerrey, the university's president.
I have been an opponent of President Bush's invasion of Iraq, but I have no tolerance for people on either side who try to disrupt the expression of views they don't like.
It does the New School's long-held reputation for open-mindedness and receptivity to dialogue no good. I also fear that it could reflect negatively on employment opportunities for the school's graduates.
I am sure that the founders of the New School, themselves the victims of intolerance, would strongly disapprove of these tactics.
James Shelland
Bellmore, N.Y., May 21, 2006
On the President: You, sir, are a real piece of work. Ready to believe any right wing extremist point of view without minimal documentation, but if the news conflicts with your worldview, it had better be cited in a peer-reviewed journal.
ReplyDeleteWhy the asterisks around "don't" and "legitimate"? Is that some secret ironic double-speak? I don't get it.
Believe what you will, matters not to me. But ask yourself: It is 2002, and we are on the cusp of war with Iraq. What does your gut tell you the President did when the Iraqi team marched in to the stadium?
Some of us *don't* need *legitimate* news to tell us how to interpret that which we see with our own eyes. You might *want* to *try* that once in a while. It's quite *freeing.*
In other words, you can't point to so much as a CNN article to back up what you've said.
ReplyDeleteApparently, making stuff up is also quite *freeing*.
Previous anonymous: the term I used was "blueblood East Coast elitist", not "blueblood east coaster".
ReplyDeleteBut if the shoe fits... =)
WRT your back-and-forth with Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteI really can't tell if you're really a left wing nut being ironic or if you're a right wing nut in denial.
I don't remember the President turning his back. I remember him sitting down and scowling. But that's not the point. The point is, anyone who disagrees with you must cite references, and anyone whom you support gets a free ride. And then you have the nerve to write about the consistency of others. It's all very rich indeed.
I don't really know what Anonymous's point was, but your reaction to it is classic Miller Time. You have no evidence that he's wrong, yet you feel justified in calling him a liar? Is that the Army's Honor Code? Two wrongs making right?
Sir, this has been enlightening, but not in the way I had hoped. My best to you in the future... getting the girl, stomping on the moonbats, spreading your liberal flavor of conservatism, and all that. I have enjoyed your views on education -- as the recent father to a future student, that is suddenly important to me. But your politics are maddening. I'm afraid that if we were to match votes on a hundred subjects, I'd agree with you on 90-95 of them. But you take an interesting route in getting there.
Semper Fi,
W.
From whence comes this belief: "anyone whom you support gets a free ride"? I include links to other sources in just about every post I write, and those links are usually Instapundit (who links to the original source), CNN.com, FoxNews.com, or the Sacramento Bee.
ReplyDeleteJust stating that the President did something so foul doesn't make it so, and I feel perfectly justified in pointing that out. Anonymous' refusal to give a source for his so-called fact indicates, to me at least, that he made it up. And I have no problem pointing that out. When he gives a source, I'll address his point--because then it will be true.
And who says I "got the girl"? You people are making some grand assumptions here. My comment was that I'd made a "new friend"--and a lot sure was read into those two words!
ReplyDelete