One president was said to describe another president as not having enough “decorum” to be in that position. I decided to look up that word and it means appropriate and polite behavior and demonstration of good taste in society. I guess we could argue the point about several of our recent presidents as well as many other leaders and people in general. Do we even know what appropriate, polite, and good taste mean any more, and does any body really care any more?
In times past, we did have standards of what was appropriate, polite, and good taste in what we did, what we said, and even in our appearances. This was basically framed in a notion of giving respect to others and following the golden rule to “Do unto others as you would like then to do unto you.” Children were taught how to exhibit decorum in school, at home, at church, and in public in general. This was also carried over into the adult world where decorum mattered at work, in families, and in church.
Examples of decorum were children saying “ma’am” and “sir,” walking while inside, and paying attention to adults when they were talking to them. Examples of decorum for adults was to say please and thank you with general interactions with others and to show respect for other drivers, other shoppers, co-workers, etc. There was deference shown such as “ladies first” or older folks being given a seat on a bus or in a room.
I hear teachers often complain that children don’t have manners today and I see children running and “misbehaving” in churches all the time. Probably all adults have seen incidents of road rage and older folks are shunted aside instead of shown respect.
Lack of decorum seems to produce social chaos. As we continue a swing toward individuality and weird “rights,” social chaos grows and the efficiency of society diminishes. At some point, what is lacking will become a priority of what to build back up. I hope this is soon.
