A monumental task

The term ladies and gentlemen conjure thoughts of the British aristocracy in bulky gowns and starched collars. However, the dictionary defines it a little differently. It paints a picture of people who are polite, well-mannered, and sensitive. So why am I being up definitions of these two particular words? It’s because in our society today, these words are fast disappearing from daily interactions with one another.

So why am I bring this up instead of ignoring the problem and going along with the status quo? Because I feel it’s important that we bring back ladies and gentlemen. Today you can’t go five minutes without hearing some form of bashing of the sexes for one reason or another. Men are stupid. Women are vain. Children are annoying. These stereotypes, when heard over and over, become a self-fulfilling prophecy. An intelligent man will “dumb it down” to fit in with the guys because a man is supposed to be stupid. A woman who doesn't care about such things will spend more time that she normally would on how she looks to everyone else because a woman is expected to be vain. Children will act out when their worth is not recognized.

The sad thing is the younger generations believe that it's acceptable act like this, disrespecting others and only caring about themselves. I worry where this trend of indifference will lead us. Are we to become a society that feels it’s okay to not give up our seat on the bus to an elderly person, shove our way to the front of the line because we’re in a hurry, or ignore people because it suits our needs? I, for one, hope that this trend does not become another one of those pesky self-fulfilling prophecies.

How can we avoid this fate? By caring about more others than ourselves, being polite in our interactions with each other, and making use of the etiquette that previous generations were taught from birth. I think Goethe had it right when he said: “Respect for self governs our morality - respect for others our behavior.” So let work on getting rid of the “bros and hoes” mentality and bring back ladies and gentlemen.

#bringbackladiesandgenetlemen #bblag #respect #letschange