Operational Standards Manual

When I occasionally mention the foremost authorities on Etiquette, “Miss Manners” and “Emily Post,” to my young grandchildren they have no idea who or what I am talking about. Not surprising, especially these days when Etiquette, Civility and Manners seem to be scarce, although, believe it or not, they are practiced by most Humans! Judging from the Minority who seem to be the Majority, but who are Not, one would think that our Civilized world has gone to pot already! Not so, really, except if you’re talking of our Uncivilized Politics and most Politicians. Otherwise, the Few Uncivil, Uncouth, Rude Boors out there are mostly Extremists, or Mentally Challenged, or Angry, or Whatever Other we want to classify them as, who have been encouraged to act up by the Behavior and Words of some of their Corrupt Leaders, Radio and Television Hosts and Social Media sites. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them are Paid, yes Paid, to sow Chaos and Disruption by those same Leaders and Platforms. That would be quite Uncivil, Dangerous and Immoral.

This Extremist “conduct unbecoming” that we see these days relies on the fact that bad behavior has this uncanny ability of filtering down from the top and into the gullible sectors of our society. We have all heard about, or witnessed rude service people, rude airline passengers, reckless drivers et al. What we saw in Jacksonville, Florida this past week is only one manifestation of bad behavior and violence when three innocent black people were mowed down by a white hater! Do we need any more proof that such behavior filters down from corrupt, selfish Leadership and their bandying around of hateful words?? When corrupt leadership sits back as gun violence ravishes the nation it is tragic. And when politics has become a tit-for-tat game of one upmanship rather than looking after the people’s business it is a travesty. It is, moreover, very embarrassing and has made us the laughing stock of the world!

So, while yes, there are Evil Forces out there who, if we allow them to succeed, will Silence Democracy, Silence Activists, Silence Sensible Young and Old People, Silence Reason and Commonsense there are also amazing Activists who are fighting back in Civilized and Lawful ways such as the two examples hereunder who, despite the Extremists, and their intent on changing Laws and Norms, are Pushing Back in more ways than one:

The Terrific Young Activist Plaintiffs – ages 5 years old to 22 – who sued their Government in Montana for its anti-climate policies and WON their case when on August 14 the Judge ruled in their favor:

This is HUGE and will reverberate across the country and the world.

Another terrific Activist to celebrate is David Hogg who survived the savage shooting of his schoolmates at the Stoneman Douglas high school in 2018, and who is nowadays organizing the youth movement across the country to stand up to gun violence and democracy and to vote in the 2024 election, and in all elections. His generation are a force to be reckoned with, as this NPR interview demonstrates.

This brings me back to Emily Post, 1872-1960, who was considered then as the second most Influential Woman in America (the First was Eleanor Roosevelt) and who wrote about Social Norms and Conventions that People should adhere to in order to maintain Social Order. In other words that we should all be Civil, Polite and have Manners, those traits that are sadly lacking in those Few Extremists and their Leaderships.

After Emily Post, there was Judith Manners, who started an Advice Column dealing with Politeness and Civility that was distributed in 200 Newspapers Worldwide. She identified “Blatant Greed” as the most Serious Etiquette Problem in the US. Wasn’t that so Perceptive, and doesn’t it still apply in our world today, maybe even more than it did when she highlighted it? Judith would be happy to see that finally the subject of Greed is being addressed by Professors, Organizations, Writers, Unions et al not only as a question of Etiquette, but more importantly as an issue of Social Justice and Equality.

Having said that, there are also some characters that we have all met here and there who have had no proper upbringing on how to be Civil and Well-mannered. I have met many of those during my lifetime such as when I was at a doctor’s office at one time and the nurse was lowering the examining table on which I was lying before the doctor came in. I politely asked her for a little pillow or something to lift my head and neck up a bit as I gag when I am lying flat. She looked at me with all disdain and said: “We don’t have pillows here. Did you think you were coming to a spa?” Can you believe that? Although Rude, I wouldn’t label this nurse as an Extremist who is hell-bent on bringing down Democracy. People like her have always existed and are the reason why Emily Post and Judith Manners decided to address such behavior when they did. We need an Emily Post and a Judith Manners today more than ever to issue an Operational Standards Manual for this modern world that demonstrates to all of us, whether we are Civil and Well-mannered, or Rude and Violent Extremists on how to navigate in this Twenty-first Century where so many seem to be in a wilderness that doesn’t know Right from Wrong anymore? Truth from Lies? Civility from Boorishness? We definitely need something, or someone along these lines otherwise our entire Standards as a Civilized Society will sink lower and lower than they have gone already, which spells nothing but more Chaos, Disruption and Danger for all of us rather than Social Order and Lawful Behavior!