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Randy Sheridan: Being thankful a matter of manners, good upbringing
By
Nov 30, 2009, 10:33
It was such a small gesture, a mere expression of appreciation, and yet it wields such power.
All the young man said to me was “Thank you sir!” and yet it was enough to elicit raised eyebrows and a second look.
Manners seem to be something of the past when you are in a conversation with most young people.
Mountains of disrespect and acres of darkness give the impression that the average youth couldn’t care less about what their parents or any adult for that matter, have to say.
It’s appears we have a far too many absent parents in our culture who seem preoccupied with everything but training up sons and daughters to respect themselves and their elders.
A little too old fashioned you might think, but I’m convinced that good manners are just as important today as they were 30 to 40 years ago when I was a kid.
Modern-day parents seem more concerned about being their child’s best friend than they do being parents. Hence, they get real slack on any kind of discipline so as to not lose their best friend.
It sounds like the same logic bad boys use to steal something that doesn’t belong to them from a young lady: “If you love me you will have sex with me.”
Sometimes it’s a lot easier to simply point a finger at our youth and excuse their bad behavior because of our own or because we don’t want to take the time to properly train them as to what is right and wrong.
Self respect and good manners go hand in hand.
Hearing this young man speak respectfully was refreshing.
As a youth, I was taught to be respectful towards those in authority whether it was other adults or law enforcement officers. They deserved respect.
One of my goals as a parent has been to take advantage of every teachable moment to properly instill a sense of decency and a moral obligation to my children to honor and respect others, especially leaders, adults and the general population.
Love and respect your neighbor as yourself.
True is the axiom, “You don’t get what you expect, you get what you inspect.”
Staying on top of what is going on in my kids life has been a priority. Where they are in life emotionally, spiritually, and in every way, must be of the utmost importance to you as a parent.
Back to this matter of manners.
Do any of you remember Miss Manners? She is a columnist who offered a constant barrage of instruction as to what was proper behavior.
But we have just about succeeded in redefining what is proper. We now call evil good and good goofy.
Hopefully a generation of parents will awaken from their drunken stupor of pursuing success and realize the most successful accomplishment of their lives would be to train up their own children as good citizens who respect their fellow human being. And then, to have that gift come back to you is as awesome as it gets.
No, manners have not gone out of style even though they are not considered as important today as they were in years gone by. Most of us are still pleasantly surprised when a co-worker or even a complete stranger treats us with mutual respect.
Without question we are living in a very high pressure culture, where it all seems to be about producing or making the company more profit while cutting the costs.
Truthfully there are no shortcuts to doing things right. Oh, you might do them faster but not necessarily better.
You just can’t cut corners when it comes to imparting principles of honesty, truthfulness, integrity and loyalty.
Giving minutes a day to the matter of manners would be one of the most profitable investments you will ever make in your offspring.
They seem rather elementary, but they are the very essence of true success in life.
I am so thankful for my parents.
Though my father has passed on, his memory and his values still linger on.
My mother is still enjoying life, and we enjoy wonderful fellowship on a regular basis.
I am extremely grateful to my wife and children. They are truly the joy of my life.
A little appreciation goes a very long way.
Take the time to express genuine gratitude to those who have had a positive impact on your life.
Let them know they are loved and their labor of love was not in vain.
Thank you ma’am. Thank you sir for all that you do.
Randy Sheridan of
Burleson is a speaker, counselor and mediator.
He can be reached
at drsheridan@aol.com.
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