by Z.Mahomed

Created on: February 07, 2009   Last Updated: February 15, 2009

Anybody remember the concept "courtesy"? This eight-lettered word and all it implies seems to be rapidly declining in our society today. A trip down to my local mall illustrates this tragedy aptly. Allow me to paint a picture:

Greeting the cashier at a supermarket chain, I receive no response as she goes on gossiping with her loud-mouthed neighbor. I am not fazed by this and pack out the rest of my trolley. In between tit-bits, she mumbles: "Would you like a bag?", and despite my clear response in the negative, she packs my groceries in a store bag while I look on, clutching my shopping bag. Seeing that I have only a few items and she has already rung up the bag, I let it go.

Later, I realize that I have been over-charged, and to my dismay I return to the store. At Customer "Service", my "Good Morning" is met with a grumpy face and an outstretched hand, as though I was handing over a death notice. His slow service is just what the queue of groaners behind me needed to set them off. Needless to say-my "Thank You" wasn't acknowledged either, though I am still unsure who I was thanking and why. I seem to recall glancing skywards as I said it... Had to be Thanking God that the month's shopping was done!

In today's world of instant gratification, we seem to have lost the value of two invaluable, yet free, humane assets in our society. Patience and good manners have lost the value they once held in society. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the media often portrays impertinence as "cool" to its viewers, most of who are young, impressionable minds-sponges - in fact.

This is aggravated by the fact that observance of simple politeness such as "please," "thank you" and "excuse me" are no longer prescribed behaviors at most schools and learning institutions either. Some would contend that the onus for teaching these values to the new generation lies with the parents. They do arguably play the most vital role in their upbringing. What then of children who hardly ever see their parents?

Manners are inherited, learned, and acquired. Yet if there is no example thereof, where do we expect today's youth to acquire it? Blame aside, it is prevalent that manners are waning in societies everywhere. But all is not lost. It remains the responsibility of everyone who values courtesy in society to encourage it by exhibiting it ourselves.

Manners are the foundation of a good society, and it is our collective responsibility to reincorporate good conduct into our societies. As Edmund Burke said: "Manners are of more importance than laws... Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation, like that of the air we breathe in."

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