Have you ever done something generous for someone and all you get is “‘preciate it” in return? Or maybe, someone knocks into you in the hallway and they don’t even look back and say “my bad.”
Well, they say no good deed goes unpunished. As people get older, they can’t help but notice that manners in society begin to decline. As kids, it was just sunshine and rainbows, but now if you don’t step on the gas pedal the nanosecond that light turns green, you’re getting honked at.
It’s understandable that not everyone is raised to be sugar, spice, and everything nice, however that’s no excuse for treating others like they don’t matter, whether they’re a stranger or not.
“It’s like you get older and then people become less mature,” said Reana Martine, a high school student in CNUSD.
The decisions people choose to make are important, but how they execute it is just as crucial.
At the grocery store check out, people are often times offered to donate their change to a healthcare organization. Turning this offer down and saying ¨No thanks¨ or maybe ¨Some other day¨ would not be rude, however, giving the cashier a dirty look and saying, ¨Now why on earth would I want to give my money away like that?!¨ would be extremely rude!
It’s very common to hear people working in social jobs (customer service, teaching, medical field etc.) complain about their shift because someone was being rude to them. It could be a customer taking ten years to order and holding up the line during rush hour and yelling at the workers for taking too long, or maybe a student won’t stop throwing things around the class to be funny, or even a nurse could come home from a 12 hour shift after being yelled at for doing their job. It sounds like an awful thing to imagine, but these are people’s real lives right now.
¨People don’t have to tell me my eyes are gorgeous and I look beautiful at work… well I mean they can if they want haha, but all I’m looking for is a ‘thank you’ sometimes or like a nod and a smile in appreciation. Respect should be in everyone. Being [rude] is a choice,¨ says Sabrina Myers, a customer service employee in Eastvale.
It’s a simple, corny cliche that we’re told kindness matters when we’re younger. We read books by Dr. Suess and get little prizes for being kind, however it’s all for a purpose. It’s never truly known what someone might be going through, especially if they’re just a stranger or someone you don’t really think of when you see them. Saying thank you or giving someone a compliment can really make someone’s day, and it needs to be encouraged more in society as we get older. Some people need kindness more than others, and no one is deserving of disrespect.
