An Incomplete List of Good Manners, Ignored

It’s an oft recited strawman statement that good manners have, or are, going the way of the dodo. Particularly a statement made by the older members of our society, I’m noticing more and more that it seems to be true. Manners are becoming increasingly unlearned at best, or ignored at worst.

I witness the vast majority of these crimes against good manners on an almost daily basis, and by people who seemingly were raised at a time when manners were still valued and taught. I am constantly surprised at the types people who I see commit these transgressions.

  • Open Mouthed/Audible Chewing – One of the most annoying, and disturbing habits. It literally takes no extra effort to close one’s mouth whilst chewing food, yet increasingly, this seems to an outdated expectation. It really makes my stomach turn to hear the sounds of you chewing. Yes, there are foods that make this unavoidable, but 99% of the time, its just ignorance.
  • Uncovered Coughing/Sneezing – Thanks for sharing your illness, dimwit. There are times when a cough or sneeze will occur so suddenly that its impossible to cover your mouth, but when you are coughing repeatedly, or for a prolonged period of time, its inexcusable to share your germs with those around you.
  • Talking With Your Mouth Full – Not only are you uninteligible, but you spray pieces of half chewed food around. Its not too much effort to finish chewing your food, then swallowing before opening your mouth to talk, is it?

Of course, I am guilty of doing all of these myself, but I try to avoid them wherever I can. In the end, it comes down to thinking of others, rather than just yourself. Manners and common decency are not antiquated practices that need to be stamped out, but rather a means of ensuring that we are allowing everybody to enjoy our environment in the same way we are.

That’s what it comes down to, in the end. We are all so caught up in thinking that the world revolves around us that we fail to see the impact that these effortless considerations can have on those around us.