Rule #56 Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for ’tis better to be alone than in bad company. (Choose your friends wisely.)
George Washington
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Manners. Etiquette. Grace. All combined have a penumbra of virtue known respect for others. Where have these basic qualities gone. Parents not instilling in their children the universal respect. We now have 2 generations of it, beginning with the end of the boomers, mine. I began noticing it about 10 years ago with Facebook. In the last 10 years, I have watched people’s respect dwindle, hiding behind the screen of anonymity. Inasmuch, people and lack of respect for one another has leaped from behind the screen protection to complete abandonment in public, no matter where it seems anymore. All bets are off, whether an office, or store, restaurant. It is time to return to a notion of civility and respect for one another.
I was brought up to offer a seat to someone older if there were none available no matter where the setting, but especially in a public situation, such as public transportation. I was of the generation that when someone entered a room, you stood up. I am not talking of a return to Victorian England, I am talking of being respectful. There once was a time where etiquette mattered. There were books written on it by the “experts.” The first I know of was Emily Post’s book, “Etiquette”, published in 1922; or “Amy Vanderbilt’s Complete Book of Etiquette;” or Leticia Baldridge, former Social Secretary to Jacqueline Kennedy during her role as First Lady, with her book, “New Complete Guide to Executive Manners, published in 1993. Manners and grace matter. That is not gone out of style. It is time we usher it back in.
In fact, because that wonderful demographic known as “millennials,” corporations and government agencies are now having to offer classes on manners, disguised as other words, like, “mindfulness” and the such. This should have been taught in the home. Sadly, it wasn’t and now we have basically 2 generations of people unversed in the subject of manners. There’s a quote attributed to Emily Post that says the following: “Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.”
I will begin this series of Civility and Respect towards one another by starting with me. While I was looking up information in the form of “manners,” “etiquette”, and “civility,” in addition to the above references, the first I noted was something penned 289 years ago by none other than George Washington when he was around 14 years old, “Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation”. The foundation built on a set of rules composed by French Jesuits in the 16th century.
So, as of this writing, I shall for the next few weeks or months, make at least a weekly post on one of Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.” Change starts with you and me as it relates in the realm of teaching respect for one another.
I happened to visit George Washington’s boyhood home, at Ferry Farm, near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Throughout the walking trail, there are several bill boards placed strategically, reminding the public of one the rules of civility. I took a few pictures. This one being today’s kick off to today’s mindfulness lesson in respect and civility.
The picture above, I took because it made me think of an addage my mother always told me when it came to my friends, “Anga, choose your friends wisely. You are known by the company you keep.” I did heed her advice on this, one of the few I did (buy my book, Standing in the Light: A Memoir by Angela Pittman, available on Amazon in Kindle or Paperback. Click the tab in menu “buy the book here) [Hey, it is my book blog page, so gotta plug it where I can.] {insert smiley}). 🙂 I think we all need to be reminded of this. Yes, we are known by the company we keep, and character does matter. You may quote me on that.
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