Do you remember when Good Manners was alive and popular and no matter where you went, he showed up and always managed to brighten someone’s day with a kind word, a good deed or a special gesture? He was a real gentleman – at work and at play.

Did you notice that wherever Good Manners went, you could always find Common Courtesy? A real lady who was always quick to say ‘please and thank you” and ‘excuse me’ – and raised her kids the same way! The two were inseparable. They made quite a couple – an item – and they were good together. Wherever they showed up, they were the main attraction – people enjoyed their company, respected them and strove to emulate them.

In the company of this congenial pair, people were polite, more considerate of others and a pleasure to be around. GM and CC were so popular, that one would never dream of hosting a business meeting, a family gathering or a party for friends without inviting them, because in their absence it was all too easy for Rudeness and Inconsideration to crash the party and spoil everyone’s fun.

Alas, a while back Good Manners and Common Courtesy disappeared from society and we haven’t seen them around. What in the world happened? Some say they ran away together to escape Rudeness and Inconsideration who were gaining status and climbing the social ladder. But nobody really knows for sure when and where they went or why they left us! I wonder if they will ever return.

What do you think really became of them? Did society chase them away? Is it because we started to take Good Manners and Common Courtesy for granted? Did we fail to appreciate their intrinsic value? Did we assume they’d always be around no matter what? Or were they forced from our midst by the new favorites – the more dominant twosome! When did Rudeness and Inconsideration gain such popularity among us anyway?

So now Rudeness and Inconsideration prevail! They seem to be everywhere and more often than not you’ll find them together, hand in hand making an impolite spectacle of themselves – a stubborn show of solidarity. Rudeness is the one who never returns phone calls or responds to emails. He just ignores you like you don’t exist. He wouldn’t dream of giving up his seat to an elderly person – in fact he thinks he’s entitled to it. Personally I think he’s responsible for tossing Good Manners out the door.

Inconsideration is never far away from Rudeness. She feeds off his delinquent behavior. They’re quite a pair! She’s the one who never calls home to say ‘Hi Mom and Dad’, doesn’t acknowledge a generous gesture with a ‘thank you’ and never thinks to RSVP to an invitation! She’ll steal your parking space at work and laugh in your face! Her kids are out of control and she’s oblivious to their disruptive behavior. She’s likely the one who chased off Common Courtesy.

Does anyone know where we can find Good Manners and Common Courtesy? Do you miss them? I do! Let’s invite them back into our midst! I’m not sure where they went, but I do know this. If we make Rudeness and Inconsideration feel unwelcome and we spurn them, they will disappear from society – and when we banish that pair, I feel sure Good Manners and Common Courtesy will make a big comeback and will be the popular favorites once more. I can hardly wait!

“Manners Maketh Man”

William of Wykeham (1324-1404), bishop of Winchester and chancellor of England, was the founder of Winchester College and New College, Oxford