Raking Muck in the Third Millenium

I used to have a sign over my desk in a newspaper office long ago, in Gothic script it read Rake Some Muck Today. In today's world, raking muck is something of a lost art. I may not be able to singlehandedly bring it back, but this is a start.

09 January 2010

The Age of Incivility

It's like I wasn't looking for a minute and suddenly the world fell into a pit of incivility. I was brought up with manners. Some of the gestures must seem quaint now. Men stood up when a woman entered a room, pulled out her chair, stepped ahead to open a door. Some women may have felt they were being patronized, but most probably considered themselves respected. And, in turn, women leaned over to unlock the drivers' door -- remember how Chaz Palmenteri told Lilo Brancato that was how to tell if a girl was worth it. How do you tell now. I can remember not being able to use a gift until I wrote the giver a thank-you note. This makes me wonder if many people today were raised by wolverines. Celebrities celebrate their lack of manners -- that twit who interrupted an award presentation to say the young lady didn't deserve it -- he didn't have a mother. And the Congressman who called the President a liar -- he was obviously raised by a wild tundra creature. But worse, people pay attention to these people. They keep bringing up the uncivil things they do. As if they deserved notice. They don't. These people deserve to be ignored. Maybe we should start 2010 by celebrating civility again.

No comments:

Post a Comment