Mind your manners

Call me old fashioned, but I was raised in a household where saying "please" and "thank you" was as natural as the sunrise. It didn't quite go as far as "yes ma'am" and "no sir," but having good manners was as important as having clean underwear. \nMy siblings and I were reprimanded for any displays of impropriety and were praised for showing the slightest bit of decorum. I was enrolled in etiquette classes before I even knew what etiquette meant. With that said, I wonder if this type of upbringing was uncommon. \nWith the many displays of rudeness that I encounter on a daily basis, I wonder if we as a society have lost our manners. \nAt first glance I would say an emphatic "no we haven't, for every time I see a young man open a door for an elderly woman or every time someone stops to help another who has spilled the contents of his or her bag all over the sidewalk. In these cases, yes, humanity does redeem itself and the world can continue turning. \nBut then the clouds roll in and Satan himself emerges from the fiery depths of hell only to take the form of the rude drive-through attendants who get an attitude when they mess up your order, or the cut-you-off-on-the-road-without-a-hand-wave guy. I couldn't possibly begin to count the number of times I have smiled at a random passerby on the street only to be met with a frightened look or an all-too-passé eye-roll. \nSeriously, people: Is it too much to ask for a smile back? Aren't they supposed to be contagious? I know flu season is approaching but trust me, you can't catch it from smiling. \nAt this point I think George Washington would turn over in his grave at the sight of some people's bad manners. According to www.history.org, Washington, at the tender age of 16, wrote "Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour In Company and Conversation" as a guide to having good manners. Granted, many of his rules are outdated and impractical by today's standards, but on the whole, Washington had some important things to say.\nFor example, he wrote, "When in Company, put not your Hands to any Part of the Body, not usually discovered." Attention all "covert," in class, in car and in line at the bank nose-pickers, this means you. Live in fear and carry travel tissues.\nHere's another piece of vital advice from Mr. Dollar Bill himself, "Wear not your Cloths, foul, unript or dusty but See they be brush'd once every day at least and take heed that you approach not to any uncleaness."\nThis one I like. While Mr. Washington mentions one's appearance here, I think this can be applied to other parts of life. His main point is that people should not be foul, and this can be applicable to anything, like customer service for example. Just because George Washington is dead doesn't mean his ideas of good manners should lie in the grave with him. His message is simple: Treat your fellow man or woman with respect and by all means, lather, rinse, repeat.