Etiquette

Every day I receive a phone call from a person who sounds like a young woman, possibly a young teen, but maybe not yet a teen. The voice asks to talk to Wayne. The caller never identifies herself, nor does she state the reason she is calling. She just asks, "Can I speak to Wayne?"

I don't reply. I don't reply because I don't know who she is or why she wants to talk to me. It could be a con, a trap of some kind. More than that, I don't reply because she treats me with disrespect. I am far older than this young person, and I expect someone of her age, who doesn't know me, to address me by my last name. I think I've earned that. When I was a young teen, I called older people mister or missus and I used their last name. I would never think of calling a much older person whom I didn't know by his or her first name. That would be very disrespectful.

But of course, many kids today are not taught the rules of respect. Their parents weren't either. They are being rude and don't know it. That's not my problem. I don't take their phone calls because they don't give me enough information to make an informed decision. Who is calling me and why are they calling me? They never say. They just ask to talk to Wayne. 

I look upon this behavior as a small example of a larger problem, which is the general decline in respect and civility in our society. I see so much of our society becoming a society of savages. They have no manners and they don't care. They respect nothing and no one. People who respect no one, including me, may find that they receive little respect in return.

Children and young adults: try to learn basic manners. The effort will always be in your best interest.