GreyWolf

I agree with Martian's analysis of how changes in society can affect the overt display of respect.

But as many have pointed out, the question of manners goes beyond respect (and I didn't really comment on that earlier). Manners are the social oil by which we are able to interact with each other without resorting to violence. It's "please and thank you", it's thank-you notes for gifts, it's opening doors for women/older people/anyone with their arms full, it's using the right utensil at a formal dinner, it's the use of Sir, Ma'am, Officer, Mr., Mrs., etc. when appropriate, and a vast litany of other seemingly useless little customs that our parents (for those of us who are older, anyway) tried to drill into us. And annoying they were until we were on the other side of that parent/child divide.

And there does seem to be a general decline in the level of etiquette/manners practised by our society, mostly in the name of egality and convenience. And I do think we are poorer for it.

I'm not saying I have any solution other than I've tried with my children to instill in them the necessary manners to function in whatever situation they find themselves. I'm just commenting, and trying to point out that manners do encompass respect for others, but they also allow you to express your disrespect, dislike, or disapproval of someone else in a socially acceptable manner.

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