your answer lies within social and cultural norms. in America, manners and politeness are steadily slipping out of our normal ideas of interaction between people. because the baby-boomer generation grew up with less demand for respect to their elders, generations X and later will progressively lose the importance of reverence for personal space and feelings of their elders as well as their peers. generally i find that those who aren't raised to be generous do not respect the generosity of others and those raised without love, don't value (or fully understand) the love of others. ultimately, we are not our own people. we are what we are made until we learn to make ourselves.

I think a lot of manners going by the wayside is due to the breakdown of the family unit. So many kids are latch-key, parents aren't home for whatever reason and don't/can't take the time to "teach" kids what manners are, and what is acceptable and expected. Yes, I wish it were otherwise. I think it's a shame that good manners aren't a "requirement" anymore. Good question!

I would describe manners as the correct way to treat and speak to someone. I know that, even though I was a single mother for most of my son's life, that I taught him very good manners. He holds doors open, says please and thank you among many other things that are considered polite. I do wish that there were more parents that would teach their children the correct way to behave and treat another human being. I taught my son like this: 'If you have manners that is showing the world that you respect yourself enough to behave properly and to treat other properly. In return you most probably will be treated the same in return. And if someone doesn't treat you the same then they aren't worth your time.'

I would say that manners today have declined because the cooperative spirit of people has declined, having fallen victim to a protracted infection of the "me" virus. Life has not evolved to where manners, morals and respect are no longer taught. There are still parents teaching these values. Unfortunately, we must also teach our children the accompanying lessons of how to navigate a world where rude people can get the upper hand and take advantage if the "polite" person doesn't understand that their manners, morals and respect can be used against them. It's a delicate line. Do I wish it were otherwise? You bet. I wish my kids didn't have to experience the slap on the face of having a kindness/good deed being punished.

what the f##k you talking about!??

"Manners" are a tool to distinguish people into classes. There is no such thing as good manners or proper manners. They are only a devise for class manipulation. Don't fall into that trap.

Proper "manners" are still taught today, however proper "etiquette" is a dying art. For example, we all still show gratitude (or at least get huffy when other people don't), but who can ever remember the correct way to address wedding invitations?

spare the rod, spoil the child?? that was the way I was raised...but, nowadays if you smack a kid they can have you put in jail and they know it...there is no way to teach manners or politness anymore....the kids rule.....think about it....

I'd say that manners are no more or less in vogue than they were in the past. The "days of yesteryear when everyone had manners" are like the "Golden Age of Bill Paying" - they are always longed for by the current generation and always take place in the past. I think that formal etiquette is in decline and I wouldn't mind seeing some parts, but not all parts, brought back in to standard practice. Some elements of ritual and ceremony in formal settings are being discarded. Those elements are largely tied up in cultural traditions and as society becomes increasingly inter-regional and multicultural, maintaining structured rituals creates exclusivity. Those elements which formerly created a good impression with potential clients, bosses, etc. are now a hindrance and have therefore been discarded in many situations. This creates the appearance of a lapse in morality and manners when, in reality, it is simply a restructuring of how they are applied.

I have seen the fall in manners over the last 25 years and I lay the blame at the 'dogooders' and the 'feminists' who poor scorn over any male who tries to be polite ...its a crime to open doors, allow ladies to entre first , to stand up and offer a seat and to the self centred 'now' generation that only thinks of its self and what it can get for its self at the expense of others

I would say that the decrease in manners is in direct inverse proportion to the amount of government control on the family unit. The less the government says you can do to a child to discipline them (spanking, grounding, etc), the less manners the child ends up with. Also, the more time the parents spend away from their kids, working or whatever, the less supervision, the less manners.

Manners are no longer thought of as important because of the me too generation. Even though,some people still have them as a second nature. Politeness comes easily to some people.

i think manners morals and respect are just as important now as they were in the past, however those who don't view or abide by these ideas are speaking more freely [which they have a right to even if i disagree about what they feel is acceptable]. remember we live in a society where people try to fit in. we only do what's necessary to be accepted. so if its not necessary to do these things, then people aren't going to follow suit anymore. reminds me of the jack johnson line "if we want hell, then hell's what we'll have"

Manners today no longer exist,and we got to this point because in order to teach manners one must be free to tell someone else that the way they are acting is wrong, not acceptable. In today's culture people, even those in authority (teachers, parents, police officers) are not afforded the public support to tell young people that the way they are behaving is not appropriate. In fact we spend most of our time trying to figure out why the kids we never taught to have good manners act out in such horrible ways. Sort of like taking your untrained dog to a pet psychic to figure out why he doesn't sit when you tell him to. Maybe he has self esteem issues.

There was a time when older people were revered and even respected. People were polite to one another they said please and thank you, yes ma'am no ma'am, yes sir, no sir without even thinking about it. Personally, I can not put my finger on where or why they have virtually disappeared , it is really disconcerting. I wish my children and their generation were more respectful. Thanks for asking !!

I grew up in Kansas, USA, among very conservative Protestants, and good manners (though not formal etiquette) are just a part of the culture. More than they are closer to the coasts, in any case. My sister (at 17. She's now 26) took a trip with some of her schoolmates to London, during which they were cussed out by a Londoner for being too polite--a woman evidently thought they were mocking her with their manners, and she railed at them for it. Naturally, being good Midwestern kids, the only response they had available to them was "I'm sorry!" Anyway, I have noticed the erosion of good manners--it's slower here than it is in some places, but it's still happening. I think if someone were to ask me to describe good manners, I'd have to say something along the lines of: Good manners are a tool we use to treat each other like people. I think I would link the decline in manners to the trend of downplaying personal responsibility. It's not possible to teach a child proper behavior if bad behavior is perceived as not being that child's fault. We've got this sense that in order to fix a child's bad manners, we need to look at some external circumstance and fix *that.* Obviously, we do need to model proper behavior for kids, but if they fail to learn the lessons, they need to be taught that that's *their* fault, not someone else's. But that's just my (crackpot) opinion.

I think we stil need these things. They are what make a society a society. Differrent cultures may disagree on forms and functions, but they have manners. A lack of manners is (in my opinion) the begining of the slide back into anarchy.

The deterioration of all good values are due to long periods of time. Ancient Europeans wrote about Ages of Man. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_Man There are also many other references to various types of world ages or Ages of Man in Hopi (worlds), Mayan (suns) and other cultures of antiquity. Giorgio de Santillana, the former professsor of the history of science, mentions approximately thirty ancient cultures that believed in the concept of a series of ages and the rise and fall of history, with alternating Dark and Golden Ages. More details of these Ages are available in the Yuga concept of the Hindus. The present age is known as Kali Yuga (age of darkness). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuga http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satya_Yuga http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/iml/iml11.htm http://www.crystallotus.com/Lemuria/04bbTheAges.htm http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/AgesOfWorld.html

Yes I do wish it were taught more. I think the problem began to develop when we as parents decided to let society raise our kids instead of us. We let our schools teach things we should teach. Since when did it become the Village's responsibility to raise my child? We allow pop culture to mold our children because it is convenient for us to have them in front of the TV or computer, while we as parents continue doing our own thing with little regard or understanding of what society is teaching our kids. We have raised an undisciplined generation that faints when they hear the word NO. That is what has happened to manners today.

A lot of people seem to have forgotten their manners, and have become very rude. to find a person with these qualities is rare at best. I do wish that it was like years gone by when people had compasion and had respect for their fellow man.

The manners of today's society have declined. I think there have always been people who choose to have bad manners. But "we" as a society have chosen to tolerate these bad manners. Our society has become "numb" to the invasive and interjected information we allow to come into our lives. We allow it to come into our homes thru our televisions, computers, video games, radios, and cell phones. It is the media. We allow it to dictate to us how we are to tolerate what is going on. It is incredible! We need to start turning some of it off and start getting back to our families, good values, and manners.

Manners are the antonym of morals. Manners, morals, and respect are no longer taught or in vogue because there have been too many people that didn't understand that relationship and the fact that respect is defined as that which cannot be taught or given. Respect is only ever taken, through intelligent action or inaction. I wish more people did understand is what I wish.

I would say that manners, are only as good as the company you have them with. The reason they are not taught, is because parents no longer have the time, desire, etc. to teach children manners. Even then, what good are manners if you are going to be a jerk about them. Pointing out every tiny flaw at a dinner table, looking down on someone for trying to make a joke, saying how they eat is faux pas? Yes, I think people should all have common respect, whether old or young. You can't just call someone something horrid either, or do something really disgusting in company that may not enjoy how you act in the privacy of your own home. Though, some manners are too stuffy and pleasent company is better then having flawless manners. Something that many people don't understand is to gain respect, you have to earn it. I am young, and all older people in my life have not treated me with respect. Not even respect that should come just for being a human being. So, why should I give respect to someone that can't respect me as a fellow adult because of my age? Then morals are in the eye of the beholder. What you see as horribly wrong, I might not. Yet because I don't see it the same way you might, you might think I am a horrible person therefore respect isn't deserved. Some people have difference of opinion, so whose version of morals do you enforce?

I would say...So when you are offered food in someone else's home, you ask questions about it? Make sure you offer them chicken, tortillas, and a spoon, and make them feel really awkward, so that you can test their manners while the person forgets them. Just being sarcastic (:p)..But a complete lack of manners is be a turn off. the difficult thing is that there is no set rule of manners today, etiquette seems different for every host in every dining occasion. I wish Finishing or Charm school was still encouraged for those who need it, unfortunately these types of classes are out of vogue, or unstylishly sexist. I think this all evolved with the hippie 60's, the womyn power 80's, and the got me a G sack kind bud and munchie in front of tha big screen 90's and 00's. And, TV dinners. Blah!

I was taught to say sir and all that. I taught my kids to do everything except say sir unless it was deserved. Yes manners have gotton worse, but I don't think as badely as it seems. A few bad apples are very obvious. A large majority of people I deal with have appropriate manners. It is up to the parents to teach them, so most of the people with bad manners had parents with the same problem.

Things are changing, we are being lead, because we have leaders. Now and forever there will be leaders to uplift the masses. I instill in my children and friends an everlasting life of goodness and love. This is to powerful of a force to become absent. Look, it is a war between good and evil, and good has never mounted an army of good men as large as the one today, 1 good is greater then 10,000 bad. 1 good my friend, 1 good. Be good if you would like to attend past the end. God Bless

I don't know what I would say because it would take a very long time to say things. I'd start out that things have changed. I do wish it were quite different. I think it is because parents are getting lazy and letting television babysit their children and rather than teaching them, just scolding them. It's bad because people have let it get so bad.

they've gone downhill. most people are too busy looking out only for themselves. It's the me generation, baby, yeah! The desire of the 60's generation to buck the norms of traditional society. We've even got some leaders of the counter-culture revolution apologizing for screwing things up.

I think manners are a social convention, and respect is the important thing, although they often go hand-in-hand. Could be way off here but I heard once that some cultures have such different manners that they seem rude to western cultures. Is that true?

yes totally agree, there arent enough manners, and they arent being taught, my own children seem to lack them, and yet I say 100 times a day use your manners, perhaps its my persistant naagging that stops them using them!!

Manners are sometimes over-rated. If you want to know and be friends with polite people have manners but there is alot to be said of straight talkers

i am 22. i believe i have been brought up to use my manners and have done so (at least, mostly - i'm not perfect lol) all my life. if someone hands me something, i'll say thank you, if i see someone trip over, i'll help them up etc, i even called someone sir the other day lol. maybe this is a rarity, but i dont think so. oh well.

Manners are the individual's recognition of social mores, norms, and folkways. I think the declination of acting with manners is a result of kids not being punished as severely as they used to be. When kids misbehaved earlier in the century, they were either beaten or severely punished. Now, since that's illegal, kids feel they can do what they want without having too severe of consequences. It's good that kids aren't beaten, but manners are really going out of style these days, which sucks.

I personally get sick of all this "manors" towerds women stuff, I fund it offensive that we, as men treat women as if they are weak and need help with everything-THEY didnt ask us to hold the door like they can't do it there selves and other stuff. Feminism starts with women telling us to stop treating them like retards and start treating them like adults. Its one thing to be nice, BUT its a whole other to treat them like dumbies.

The older generation has been complaining about the lack of manners in the younger generation for thousands of years now. If it meant anything then things would be heaps worse today than what they are. (Or our ancestors were infinitely more polite - I don't think so!) "Do not ask, 'Oh why were things so much better in the old days?' It is not an intelligent question." - If I remember rightly, that quote is found in the Bible in Proverbs. Anyone out there want to confirm it? (otherwise try Ecclessiastes, but I'm quite sure it's Proverbs.)

Every generation thinks the generation that follows is inferior to itself. You can find quotations going back to the Ancient Greeks bemoaning the moral laxity and general worthlessness of the "younger" generation. I believe it was Rousseau who said "the more things change, the more they stay the same", and I believe that applies here.

yes. the other day i stopped a cpl of 14 year old shitheads from physically stealing jewelery from an asian woman. What is happening to kids these days. They should have been at school. Coming for me a 19 year old girl for christs sake. Yes kids these day are moralless shit heads.

the manners today are almost non existent, the people in the last 25 years have no idea what they are(manners) or how to use them ...the only things they know are greed and putting #1 first no matter what and you CAN NOT have manners when you think like that

I have very strong feelings regarding this subject, which can be found in this article: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/221143/the_death_of_chivalry.html