Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Classes I wish EVERYONE would take

I got a fax from Central Georgia Technical College the other day and right there, between "Grow your Business" and " Microsoft Word 1" was "Social Development: Character and Manners" for $10. While it's a sad commentary that such a class is necessary, I wish I could run out and sign up every person between the ages of 10 and 30.
And before you get all offended, think about it. When I say "Emily Post," more than half of you say "who?" Miss Manners was part of MY mother's generation, and her mother's before that. We live in a society where answering your cell phone at the dinner table is accepted. Our young people don't know how to dress for formal occasions, or what a formal occasion IS, if attire I've seen at weddings and funerals is any indication. "Business casual" has further put a dent in our manner memory. Try it some time - you'll find you DO behave differntly in dress shoes than in sneakers, and I can only imagine the difference between wearing a tie and a t-shirt.
Part of me is glad I can speak my mind in front of my boss, invite him over for poker night and offer him a beer. But part of my longs for the time when we accorded our elders the respect they have earned, and strangers the respect of keeping our private business private.
--Misty

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