by Stephen D. Wilson

Created on: June 07, 2008

Something has been bothering me lately, at first I thought it was my being old fashioned and it probably is. What is it that bothers me? People using first names of people that have earned or deserve to be called by their salutation and then last name. My mother used to call it "speaking of someone in the familiar."

Here's an example: when you watch the news, it really doesn't matter which network, you will eventually hear a reporter or anchor refer to the President as "Bush" or "George W." You'll also hear people call your congressman or senator by their first names, and they have never met them. This seems to be an oddly "American" only phenomenon, I don't hear of anyone else referring to the President of Russia or Prime Minister of Britain by their first names.

Now here is why it bothers me, it's rude. It doesn't matter what your political views are, The President of the United States is referred to as Mr. President or Mr. Bush. This shows respect for the office that he holds. The same goes for Senators Obama, McCain and Clinton, they are elected officials and unless you are in their immediate family they are to referred to by their title, no matter how inept you think they are. They were elected to office by a majority of the voters in their states, or in the case of the House of Representatives, their district. Whatever the position of the individual that holds the office, they represent the office its self.

When they leave office, they still deserve the titles they were elected or appointed to (cabinet members and ambassadors). Mr. Bush will always be introduced as "Former President George W. Bush" then when he is asked a question he is still to be referred to as Mr. President. Senator Tom Harkin will always be referred to Senator Harkin, no matter if he holds the office or not.

What happened to our manners that we feel we know someone so intimately or personally that we don't even have to ask if we may drop their title and call them by their first names? Why is it ok to also just refer to them by their last names? Do we just drop what titles altogether? Should we start calling the Pope Benedict or Benny or better yet 16. He is after all the 16th Pope to use that name. What about your Doctor? I've known my doctor for about ten years and have known her first name for about that long, yet I still call her Doctor then her last name.

I think that we are losing something in this hurry up and text society that we have engineered. We are losing our civility, our manners. That is the shame of it all. In this age of instant this or that, we've lost respect of others. Calling someone by their title or referring to someone as Mr., Ms., or Mrs., does not mean that they are superior to you are to me, it just shows that you have respect for them as people, and also respect for yourself.

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