Etiquette – Where has it gone? Will it be back?

It has to be around here somewhere.  Still looking for it.  Oh, hi! Where were my manners? you are here because you wanted to read something right?  That was just rude of me trying to find what I was going to talk about now wasn’t it? Etiquette, does it still exist?

Sorry, I was gone for about 5 minutes there, was still trying to find it.  Oh, you are still here? now that was just nice of you wasn’t it?  But on a serious note, we can get serious here? right? What has happened to society as a whole? and the days of manners, common sense, and good decency that seems to escape most of the people we encounter, or deal with on a daily basis.

Dictionary.com defines etiquette as the following:

[bctt tweet=”Etiquette: conventional requirements as to social behavior; proprieties of conduct”]

Driving

I am approaching a 4-way stop at the traffic light, and I have my left blinker on.  Thinking about needing to turn left, and the row of cars behind the first one opposite of me, I start to think of my timing.  Light changes, I am ready to go.  What? You turn on your left blinker and begin to turn after the light changes? Yes, that’s what happens, and the row of cars behind it move forward and I am stuck at the light for a second turn.  If I had known you were turning from the beginning I would have had time to turn at the same time.

I am driving down the road and start to slow down at the school crossing sign and the light is flashing 15 mph.  I slow down, and the car behind me beeps their horn, and rides my bumper the whole way through the zone.

And one of my favorite ones being that I was a Paramedic.  An ambulance is driving down the street with lights and sirens on, and multiple cars are in the other lane next to it, outpacing it and trying to pass it.

What is wrong with all of these?  Everything! Our world has become a breeding ground of careless and unmindful individuals who don’t think about the people around them, and how their actions affect those who they come in contact with.

What can we do to change it?  Not much unfortunately.  The funny part of all of this, is that when some of these events happen to these same people, they have the audacity to get mad at the other person.  They don’t have that right. Trust me.

Dining Out and Entertainment

You are at the movies.  You pay $15 a ticket.  $12 for a bucket of popcorn and a drink.  You find your favorite seats, and ten minutes into the movie, someone’s smart phone goes off with the loudest ringtone you ever heard of “Who let the dogs out!” or “Uptown Funk” blaring through the theater.

Out on my Saturdate with my wife.  Enjoying a nice steak dinner at Timber Lodge in Medina, Ohio.  A person nearby sneezes, and doesn’t cover their mouth.  You see droplets fly everywhere, and start to wonder, am I going to get sick?

Basically, everyone needs to turn off phones in public, put them on vibrate. Cover your face when sneezing.  Seems like common sense right?  But everyday it still happens.  Why?

Everyday Actions

It’s a windy cool day, you go to open the door because you see someone close behind you, and either hold it for them to grab, or actually hold it open for them to go first.  They don’t say “Thank You”.

Someone see’s that you are right behind them, they open the door so fast it closes quickly behind them.

You watch someone finish loading their car or truck from their cart at the Store you visit.  The cart return is 3-4 cars down and they leave the cart to the side of their vehicle or in front of it.  Just ready to hit my SUV, as my luck would have it.

The line is long at the grocery store, you have been waiting just as long as everyone else to go through.  The lane next to it opens, and as you get ready to move over, the person behind you or them darts over and gets in line.  No respect to the time you have been there.

I realize we all want to get things done.  I also realize that situations cause stress.  However, having basic good manners, might make someone’s day, and cause a contagious effect that will infect all of us.  Saying “Thank You”, holding a door open, covering your mouth while you sneeze, offering to let the actual next person to go in line, are just some of the things that can make a difference.

Will everyone play along.  No.  Should we as good people stop trying because people do these things? (I know you may want to), but no, we should always do the right thing no matter what.

[bctt tweet=”Say Thank You, Open Doors for people, Be courteous in Public, Do the right thing.”]

So what upsets you when it comes to common courtesy or etiquette?  What things do you to to try and make the world a nicer place for everyone else?