Manners

When I was a wee boy, I was made to say please and thank you, and may I get down from the table ,please.
I was reminded yesterday about how nice manners are. I was in London and had a meeting with a Romanian lady and one of our lady aristocrats. Politeness was everywhere. Doors were opened and ladies were ushered through. Gentlemen stood up when ladies entered the room. Graciously, the ladies said " Please don't get up" but of course we did. The discussion was friendly, people's opinions were deferred to, and a sensible path forward was agreed by all concerned. People had put their own ambitions and agendas on hold, in the interests of making progress that all could buy into.
How different from a meeting I had this morning when everyone appeared to be only interested in ripping each other's throats out. Individual agendas and demands were jabbed in your eye. At the end of an hour, nothing had been agreed as everyone stood on their points of principle. Complete waste of time, and noone even attempted a please or thank you, even when passing the milk.
We've lost so much from our everyday lives, with people being told they have "rights" and how to get them. What happend to responsibilities? Parents assault teachers for reprimanding young louts.Householders are charged for defending their homes. Crime appears to be lessening because pople don't bother to report it any more. They probably feel they would end up in jail for assaulting the counsellers who the police would foist on them. We all have to work extra hours because the cost of living rises inexorably, despite what our Government likes to think. The knock-on effects on our society are already beginning to come home to roost, and I can only say that I am gladthat I will probably only have to put up with it for a shorter time than most.