Is anyone else as shocked as I have been at the tone of disrespect and dishonor that has been present throughout this year's election campaigns? Is this to be the new norm? It seems more and more every day that common courtesy and civility are diminishing before our eyes.
In my Organizational Ethics class we were discussing whether we felt society was more rude and unpolished or less rude and unpolished than it used to be. I thought I'd share some of my thoughts about this as it's a subject near and dear to me. As parents we have such a battle in this world to instill the character qualities of consideration, respect, empathy, and love in our children. Here is some of what I wrote:
It can clearly be seen, especially by those who have
lived through several decades, that society today is much more rude and
unpolished than it was many years ago. This is probably related to the
deterioration of caring and mutual respect that used to permeate the character
of people but is not always easily found within hearts today. Manners are a
reflection of respect and caring about those around us, and along with their
rapid decline over the past few decades, it can be seen that love and empathy
for others has lessened as well.
It is interesting to note that manners and character
training used to be part of public education, as can be seen in antique
textbooks, such as the McGuffey Readers that were used in public schools a
little more than a century ago. A sample of such character training can be seen
in McGuffey’s Fifth Reader:
I
live for those who love me,
For
those who know me true;
For
the heaven that smiles above me,
And
awaits my spirit, too;
For
the cause that needs assistance,
For
the wrongs that need resistance,
For
the future in the distance,
And
the good that I can do.
This seems in stark
contrast to the character training of children today, which is practically
nonexistent in many homes and schools. This is unfortunate because it has
contributed greatly to the ongoing corrosion of manners and mutual respect
among common people.
As Christians we are called to be the salt and light in
the world (Matthew 5:13-16). One way we can do this is to take the time to
learn manners and etiquette if we have not already learned them and teach them
to our children as well so that others can see that we care about them. In this
way we may show Christ to the world.
The
simple cure for rudeness and disrespect can be found in the Bible in Luke 6:31,
“Do to others as you would have them do to you”. If
everyone would abide by this Golden Rule in today’s society, we would be back
on the right track towards the common goals of love and mutual respect.
This may seem obvious to most but how many of us really stop and take the time to reflect on this simple principle? Obviously this did not occur to many politicians participating in the election this year. How can we ever expect improvement in this area if our leaders can't even abide by the Golden Rule?
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