Are Manners Dead?

Is it just me, or has pretty much everyone become a completely self-absorbed jerk?  I just about fall over when I hear a “please” or “excuse me” because it’s so rare nowadays.  People are so into their own little world they don’t give a crap about anyone else.  Rudeness seems to be a way of life.  What has happened to manners and civility?

For example, at work, I sit at the front desk of our office.  Across the hall is a classroom that is used by departments from across the university.  During the academic year, the room is used for classes and is fairly quiet.  However, one department decided it would use the classroom as a nightclub/play room for their students.

The kids were in Youth Studies classes.  What Youth Studies is, I have no clue.  All I know is if my college-bound daughter told me she wanted to major in it, I would tell her to pay for it herself.  She would probably make more money and be in less debt delivering newspapers.

At first, there were the loud chants.  Next, was the acoustic guitar.  The last straw was the boombox and stomping feet.  Is this a class or a rave?  I was waiting for the bouncer to appear and start collecting cover charges.

At first, I politely complained to no avail.  I was told these “exercises” were a necessary part of the classes and I basically needed to buck up and take it.  Nice.

I thought summer would be better.  Oh, no…I was so wrong.  The first class was for young kids.  A summer camp.  Sounds innocent enough until I found out it’s a rocketry class.  Fabulous.  Nothing makes me think of peace and quiet more than rockets launching.

After the camp ended, I thought there would finally be a more relaxing work environment.  That was before the construction started outside for a new plaza and an economics course across the hall.  Between the jack hammers outside and the running relays in the hallway, I was on the verge of insanity.

I can understand the noise from the construction but do the instructors across the hall really need adults racing down the hall screaming?  In an economics course?  Of course, I complained and again nothing was done.  So, I would have to close the office door and crank my music to drown them out.  I was shocked at how rude they were, totally ignoring the fact that myself and others were trying to concentrate and get something done.  They had zero consideration for others, which is really sad.

What’s happened that no one really seems to care anymore about anyone but themselves?  Is it due to computers and cell phones?  Nowadays, we really don’t need to have face-to-face interactions so we don’t have to be nice?

Personally, I’d like to go back to my childhood when there were no computers, cell phones, and drive-thru everything.  We actually knew our neighbors and hung out with them.  It was safe for us to ride our bikes and play at the park without our parents fearing we’d be abducted.  I’ll take the ’80s hairdos and neon any day over someone texting behind the wheel or blasting their dance tunes across the hall from my office!