What has brought about such a drastic change over the last 50 years or so? From the quasi-utopian family on "Leave it to Beaver" to the disrespect shown in almost every scene of "South Park". How about the change in gender roles in the last century? With the feminist movement, unfortunately, came the theory that women should be treated the same as men. How about the loss of respect for the elderly? With "unbiased" history so readily available, who needs the wisdon of the aged?
I have to say, I love it when I see people treating each other with courtesy and respect. I also think that one of the greatest resources we have is the wisdom and maturity of our elders.
I have two initial comments -
ReplyDeleteYou can give me a legal copy of this music for my birthday. Very nice choice.
Here is another example of manners that Nathan found - http://pbskids.org/martha/videos/wd_forgive.html
While I don't agree with your analysis of the causes of the decline in social etiquette, results of the feminist movement or the idea of a "Leave it to Beaver" utopian society I think we can all agree that the end result has been sad to see. I realize this is a short blog entry though so it would be hard to get into it all very deeply in this type of forum. Its always good to bring attention and debate to these types of issues.
ReplyDeleteGood job on the blog set-up. Thanks for the link!
I don't think I could ever get into the habit of doing most of those things to show respect. There are a lot of people that I don't consider worthy of being shown respect but I will often put that aside and show it anyway. I have my own ways of saying respect that don't require me standing every 6 seconds. I still use Sir and Ma'am when appropriate and I respect the elderly far above others. I try to show equal respect to all though it may not be easy.
ReplyDeleteIn our fast paced society some forms of respect are not appropriate or necessary. Rising when a woman enters the room is just not practical and using 'sir' and 'maam' has actually gotten me a tongue lashing from both men and younger women.
ReplyDeleteNow respect for the elderly is the right thing to do, they are thankful that us youngsters notice them and show proper attitude to one with a snowy white crown of silver hair.
I think that some forms of etiquette are out-dated, however, I think we NEED to have modernized versions of these to replace them. As far as getting reprimanded for showing respect, we also need to be aware and grateful to others for showing us those courtesies. Acceptance is just as important as personally adapting these behaviors.
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