This word covers a broad range of actions, but the inconsistency I speak of here is the kind that deals with manners and respect.

Yes, good ol' manners... So many of us understand what this means, but even more don't actually follow through. Especially with adults (keyword = adults) who are well aware of how to properly greet and/or treat a fellow human. How sad is that?

When you are well-acquainted with someone, the right thing to do when passing them in the hallway, on the street or wherever would be to say hello, at the very least. It's just common courtesy. Decency shouldn't need a manual; it should be automatic. I mean, am I speaking of foreign ideals here or am I right? I was raised to treat people with respect, so it just baffles me when someone I know decides to say hello to me one day but completely ignore me the next. And this is supposed to be the south where there's southern hospitality? Well, I've lived in the south for all my life, and let me tell you, it is lacking in plenty of areas, including manners.

"But we all have off-days." Of course we do! That is human nature, and sometimes things are just crappy all-around. However, don't use any of that as an excuse. It literally takes the movement of a few facial muscles to form a smile, or a couple of seconds to utter a greeting. We all can reach past whatever is affecting our day and mood to genuinely exchange an act of civility.

An old neighbor of mine once asked her mother, "do I have to say hello to people when I don't want to?" Her mother replies with, "No." I don't know exactly what she meant by the question, but I still don't understand why my family was included in this. When neighbors have lived next to each other for years and had dinners together and spoke about deep topics and formed a friendship, how can they disregard them when the other moves away? What has this world come to? Throwing away friendship because it's not convenient anymore? Or maybe, they weren't being true to begin with. And that's unfortunate.

On the other hand, if someone has treated you terribly and you happen to pass by them again, then I wouldn't say anything. Not to stoop down to their level, but simply to not act phony. Inconsistency often couples phoniness and it's a shame. I rather not be fake and keep moving than to display false interest just for the sake of worrying what the other person would think. Who cares? The problem here is that we are so fixated on the feelings of those who have treated us poorly in the past that when it comes to those who have always treated us with respect, we dump on them. How completely backward is this way of thinking?

But it doesn't stop with manners. Adults even have trouble with saying a simple "thank you" or returning other gestures of kindness. We are surrounded by people all our lives, so that means we should probably do our very best to treat those people with the respect and kindness we all deserve. Hello? Treat others how you'd want to be treated.

Whatever happened to parents stepping in to teach their kids the right way of treating people? If kids don't know, they have to follow by example. It all stems from the home. My mom today, even with me being a 21-year-old and my brother being 30, still reminds us and enforces the importance of treating everyone with respect, no matter the time of day or whatever we happen to be going through.

It doesn't matter how old you are, you should know better. Plain and simple. If someone asks if you'd like to join them for dinner, the cordial thing to do is to at least respond and give some kind of satisfaction. Don't leave people hanging. If someone goes out of their way to bring you a gift, at least say thank you. And most of all, recognize when someone has consistently treated you with respect, and never fail to return the consistency. The bottom line is: We only get one shot at being decent people. Don't ruin it.