Manners

I had this hanging in the bathroom as the children grew up on Shoreside. I love seeing it still hanging there. It’s still excellent advice. 

“Manners are about showing consideration and using empathy. But they are also about being connected to a common good; they are about being better. Respect and consideration are traditionally due to people for all sorts of reasons, some big, some small. Here are 20 (most lapsed) reasons to show special politeness to other people.

1. They are older.
2. They know more than you do.
3. They know less than you do.
4. They got here first.
5. They have educational qualifications in the subject under discussion.
6. You are in their house.
7. They want to help you financially.
8. They have been good to you all your life.
9. They are less fortunate than you.
10. They have achieved special status in the wider world.
11. You are serving them in the shop. 
12. They are in the right.
13. They are your boss.
14. They work for you.
15. They are a police man, teacher, doctor, judge.
16. They are in need.
17. They are doing you a favor.
18. They paid for your tickets.
19. You phoned them, not the other way round.
20. They have a menial job.”

Excerpted from Talk to the Hand the Utter Bloody Rudeness of Every Day Life

(or six good reasons to stay home and bolt the door),by Lynn Truss