Decline Of Civility Research Paper

Rudeness: The Decline of Civility or a Sign of the Times? “Please, thank you, no mam, and no sir”, are just some common terms that seemed to have vanished from conversations of daily living. Rudeness once was frowned upon but in today’s time, it has become usual. It seems as though no one cares about the cause and effect of their uncivility. Something as simple as showing appreciation for someone’s kind gesture should not be hard to do. For example if a person holds open the door for you, in return, the person should be thanked. According to a study lead by Glenn Fox, Ph.D., a psychology researcher at University of Southern California, only 19% of 194 strangers thanked the person holding the door. Those numbers shows how distraught society …show more content…
Time has changed and with that change, has come different perceptions of having manners. John Kasson, a professor at the University of North Carolina, said in his book entitled: Rudeness & Civility, “tracing those changes through time is rather like looking for salt in the sea.” (72) People no longer take in to consideration on how their actions or words could harm someone else. We as people learn from example meaning our children are watching and we are recreating monsters. Even in our school system uncivility exists. Cyber bullying is at an all-time high. According to journalist Sarah Phillips, there is now a greater recognition of the connection between bullying and suicide. (28) The internet has become a safe haven for bullies to be rude, uncivilized, and bullies to their classmates and/or peers without any consequences. If we are going to eliminate the problem of uncivility, we as a whole have to change our unjust behaviors, possess a non-judgmental heart, and realize that we are doing more harm than …show more content…
Simply trading places with the opponent could possible make the problem transparent. Seeing through someone’s eyes may seem scary at this point but it should. It not only opens you up for consideration of other’s feelings but it decreases your chances of being rude. The old saying is it takes a village to raise a child. Well think of people as the village and our country as the child. The old saying kill them with kindness should become law. Ms. Deborah Wadsworth, president of public agenda research organization, stated the solution to rudeness best, “how to get even with rude people –be civil.” Her researched summarized that 8 out of 10 American found that the lack of respect and courtesy has decreased since the past. Dealing with disrespect by returning the unwanted actions is only a problem. By showing that you could be civilized puts that person in an awkward position and make them retreat from continuing the