I guess I'm not the only one

who's wondering where manners went.

You generally think of younger people when you think of bad manners and and , , , less than civilized behavior. Ok, I admit I've got a problem with my language, but I TRY to keep my tone down around women and children anyway.

Catheren Seipp is talking about it alot better than I can.
I don't know exactly WHY we're all becoming pretty jaded about dealing with others, but I have my ideas.

Lets start with TV; since about the mid-70's there's been the obligitory "spunky" kid.
You remember, the one that knew more than the adults in their life. The moronic (white) dad that was always being saved from himself by super-mouth.

Which went along with schools deciding that it wasn't cool to be "forcing" these paragons of civility to learn right from wrong. They weren't taught at home either, so grew up ignorant of the concept of 'consideration of others' that most of civilization accepts as a norm. Now you have parents being unable to even think of teaching their kids right from wrong -OR- accepting responsibility for their own actions. Schools went from reinforcing civilized behavior to ignoring right and wrong by "moral relevance" and back PAST civilized actions to the draconian Zero Tolerance cr@p. -You know- "We won't TELL the kids it's bad to stab each other, so lets crackdown on ALL sharp things" and catch Ladybugs as well as Wasps on that flypaper.

Then we have the public figures who ARE role models (whether they want to admit it or not) for kids and some adults, too. Willie Mays? Bart Starr? Roger Staubach? JFK (Kennedy, not Kerry)? Bill Clinton? Pete Rose? The Hollywood bed swapping, etc.. .

The music. I was going to concerts for the Sex(well, hoping- anyway), drugs (more of a contact high) and I did like the rock and roll. Now the kids had/have what the material girl, dysfunctional a-rythmic crap glorifying misogynie, drug dealing, and physical violence to solve the most trivial of affronts.

Let me tell you parents out there, you're NOT being cool aping your clueless yard-apes. You DON'T look cool with your gimmie cap on backwards or sideways- you look like a 40-something dork. Start trying to act like a grown-up. Say NO once and a awhile , , ,and mean it! it could start actually bronging some civility back into our lives.

Sorry.
*taking a breath*
OK, I'm off my rant. Sorry I got off subject a little, but *I* feel better anyway.

Should I care to ask about you?