by Sheila White
My manners define me. When I walk through a door, I hold it for the next person. I say “thank you” when someone holds the door for me. All of us have manners, but many people don’t always apply them properly. Many forget to say, “how are you?” or “excuse me,” or “thank you,” or “may I help you?”
When you grew up in my era — the late ’50s and early ’60s — we were taught manners as children. Our parents taught us how to be polite. We were taught that and more in Sunday School. People back then taught you how to act at the dinner table, out on the streets, and at friends’ houses.
Now people fight more and hurt each other frequently. Society is meaner, nastier, and less civil because fewer people worry about their manners. We need the old days back, where the neighbors helped raise you and people cared more about each other.
