With everything that has happened in the past couple of weeks, from shootings in Orlando and Dallas, and it being summer, when people like to vacation in different places, I have done some thinking about the society that we live in and the people that are in it. What I have noticed over the past month is that people are not always the best. This is really obvious with the shootings in Orlando and Dallas, but it hit me during a dinner conversation last week.
My father was talking very passionately about how some people just don't have manners or morals and how big of a problem that is in our society. As we talked, I began to think about the shootings that have occurred, in Orlando, in Minnesota and Baton Rouge and in Dallas, and how morals could have played a large role in these events. If the men in the Orlando and Dallas shootings had a strong moral compass, would they have shot all of those people? If the police officers in Minnesota and Baton Rouge had strong moral compasses, would they have shot those two men? Unfortunately, we will never know.
According to Merriam-Webster, a moral is "concerning or relating to what is right and wrong in human behavior." Maybe, if the teaching of morals, the teaching of right and wrong, was something that was emphasized in our culture, these horrible events wouldn't happen. Maybe people would not bully each other. Maybe people would be more willing to help those in need. Maybe people would just be nicer.
Now, if you're being nice, that usually means you are being polite and using good manners. To me, manners means that you're are polite to people around you and that you follow the rules of the establishment you are in. When you are kind to the people around you, they are more likely to be kind to you.
Working at a place where many tourists like to go, I deal with a lot of people, and many of them are on vacation. Naturally, manners are a thing that I think about a lot. I want the guests to feel comfortable and have fun, so I do my best to be as polite as possible. This is not how all of the guests act though. Some people are downright rude, not saying please or thank you and throwing their money on the counter instead of handing it to me politely. Even their kids are not well behaved, taking items off of the shelves and walking around my small store, sometimes walking outside with items until I have to remind them that they need to pay for it first. Some guests act as though they are entitled; of course they should all be allowed to do this activity, they're on vacation! (Even though their son is under the age limit for said activity.) This entitled attitude gets old very quickly and demonstrates that some people do not seem to believe in manners when on vacation.
I guess this article was to vent some feelings about the past couple of weeks, but to also tell the world about two concepts that I think are super important. Morals are important because they help you determine what is right and wrong. Holding the door open for someone is right and shooting a bunch of people is wrong. Manners are important because, without them, we would be a society of egotistical and self-centered jerks. Manners can help you to get something that you want, and being polite and having good manners is, in my opinion, the right way to behave to someone, the people you know and the people you don't.
Remember to be kind to those around you and to be polite; you may brighten someone's day with a simple "please" and "thank you."