Confession

People are funny when it comes to politics. There are those who don't discuss politics because of the inevitable arguments the subject leads to. There are those who will hold the party line like a dog with a bone. And then there are those whose last resort is always a Bible verse.

Having taken theology courses at a private Catholic University I am well aware that one can make the Bible say anything you want it to, although I learned the basics of how to do that as a Baptist in my childhood.

What I didn't learn in my childhood was good manners. Yes, my parents loved me. They worked hard and did the best they could, but my parents could not teach me things they did not know. I in turn had children to whom I passed on the manners that I had, but could not teach them things I did not know.

Until about five years ago I thought I had good manners. At the very least I believed my manners were adequate, and then I checked out some books at the library by Judith Martin. I was shocked to learn just how bad my manners actually were. There was so much I did not know.

When I started to work on changing my bad manners I began to notice just how many people around me also had bad manners. It was like an epidemic. I can say, from experience, that it is difficult to teach yourself good manners. The best you can do is find people who have good manners and hang out with them, so you can practice.

Because I educated myself on the subject of manners, I can see now why there were jobs I didn't get, relationships that didn't work out, trouble I got into unintentionally.

Manners are by definition the social rules of conduct of a culture and they are varied in different parts of the world. Manners are standards by which we are measured. I didn't invent them. They were already established when I got here.

The point is, I didn't learn good manners at home and I wasn't taught good manners at school, so I don't have good manners. I am not the only one. It seems to me, there are a lot of people in the same boat. I'm not here to pass judgment. I'm here to make sure it doesn't happen to my grandchildren.

Copyright © 2009 Annette Fortunato

This content may not be copied or reproduced in any way without the express written permission of the author. You are welcome to link to or bookmark this page, but please contact the author via E-Mail if you wish to reproduce this article in whole or in part.