When did we stop giving a damn about basic manners?
I'm not talking about fancy etiquette. Which fork to use at dinner. How to properly address royalty. That stuff. I'm talking about basic human decency. Common courtesy. The simple shit that used to be expected.
People show up to the store in pajamas now. Not running in for medicine at 2 AM because you're sick. Middle of the afternoon. Pajama pants and slippers like they just rolled out of bed. No shame. No second thought. Just out in public looking like they gave up on life. Put on some real pants. It's not that hard.
Pants worn down to the thighs. Underwear on full display. Walking around holding their waistband so their pants don't fall off completely. How is that comfortable. How is that acceptable. Nobody wants to see your ass. Pull your damn pants up.
Nobody holds doors anymore. You walk into a building and the person in front of you lets it slam in your face. Doesn't even look back. Doesn't care. Common courtesy used to be you hold the door for the person behind you. Now people act like you don't exist. Would it kill you to look over your shoulder?
Nobody addresses elders appropriately. Yes sir. No ma'am. Please. Thank you. Basic respect for people who've been around longer than you. That's disappearing. Everyone talks to everyone the same way now. No deference. No acknowledgment that maybe someone with more years on this earth deserves a little extra respect. Just grunts and one word answers.
I don't think this is a generational thing. I see it across all ages. Young people. Middle aged people. People my age who should know better. Something shifted in society and nobody seems to care how they present themselves or how they treat others anymore.
I don't know what caused it. Maybe we got too comfortable. Maybe we stopped teaching this stuff. Maybe everyone got so focused on themselves they forgot other people exist. Maybe respect just went out of style and nobody told me.
Whatever happened it's noticeable. And it's getting worse. Every time I go out I see something that makes me shake my head.
I was raised to present myself a certain way in public. To treat people with respect. To say please and thank you. To hold the door. To dress like I gave a damn when I left the house. That wasn't optional. That was expected. You didn't leave the house looking like a slob. You didn't treat strangers like they were invisible. That's just how it was.
Now expectations are gone. Anything goes. And we wonder why everything feels coarser. Ruder. Less civil. We lowered the bar to the ground and people still trip over it.
I'm not asking for perfection. Just basic effort. Basic courtesy. Basic respect for yourself and the people around you.
Is that really too much to ask?
Anyone else notice this or am I just turning into a grumpy old man?
Thanks for reading,
Joe
Notes:
-All content is mine unless otherwise annotated.
-Images are my own unless otherwise noted.
-Photos edited using MS Paint and/or iPhone SE.
-Page Dividers from The Terminal Discord.
