Published: October 10, 2009 11:55 pm      

Remember your manners

Every person wants respect as an individual, whether it comes from people we know or complete strangers. The problem — which can be seen at almost any busy intersection in Vermilion County — is that too few of us want to give others respect.

The Associated Press recently ran a story about a couple in Quincy, Mass., who received the wrong order from their local McDonald’s. Simply pointing out they had ordered large fries, not the small portion they received probably would have resolved the situation without incident.

Instead, the two went on a rampage, reportedly throwing coins at the employees and even tossing one of those orange, plastic warning cones at a worker, cutting her face.

Seriously, over an order of fries?

The AP story included a similar situation in Norwell, Mass., where slow services at a KFC aggravated a couple to the point where they began cussing long and loud. When another customer — probably thinking others didn’t need to hear weak minds trying to express themselves forcefully at such a high decibel level — asked them to hold it down, the couple attacked him.

These incidents almost serve as a reflection of “debates” going on at the national level. Those on the left and the right rarely discuss issues from a position of fact these days. They prefer to rip into opponents on a personal level.

Such tactics might do little to foster a better understanding of the issues, but they sure spark ratings, don’t they? We seem to have a fascination with the loud, the profane, the self-centered and the self-serving.

Simple manners go a long way toward eliminating the boorish and rude behavior of others. It’s not a sign of weakness to be courteous. It doesn’t mean surrender if you listen to another’s opinion before jumping in with your own. Hold open a door for someone else. Let someone else go first. Smile.

The next time someone barrels through the four-way stop at Vermilion and North streets, apparently on a mission so vital mere traffic signs don’t merit attention, just smile and wave. Maybe, just maybe, it will make them stop and think about the others with whom they share the road.