Life & Liberty





Saturday, May 13, 2017

May 12, 2017: Del Rio News-Herald * OPINION * Letter to the Editor * Manners Matter!

Letter to the Editor,

Manners Matter!

Nursing Home residents Mrs. Brown and Sra. Blanco are congenially conversing.

Mrs. Brown tells Sra. Blanco, “You know, the world around us would be a kinder, gentler place, if manners mattered.”

Sra. Blanco responds, “Etiquette and social graces have given way to the rough and tumble world of emulating the sensationalism of reality shows that revel in exorbitant exhibitionistic exploitation for the sake of ratings.”

Brown: Some view good manners as unreal, restrictive, and even dishonest.

Blanco: What’s so real, liberating and honest about being bad mouthed, discourteous, impolite, rude and uncivil?

Brown: Unfortunately civility, courtesy and good manners have disappeared.

Blanco: Some think those who exhibit good manners are meek and weak; door mats to be trampled on, taken advantage of, mocked and ridiculed.

Brown: How sad manners have become an ancient relic of days gone by, of yesteryear’s way of being; an antiquated, fanciful way of being that no longer exists in this fast paced, harsh and cruel world. 

Blanco:  Some believe that nice people finish last and mean people finish first.

Brown: Our world has turned topsy-turvy, inside out, where manners are extinct and rudeness is epitomized.

Blanco: What once was relished has been relinquished and has vanished.

Brown: Curse words; swearing, profanity and vulgar language are the accepted mood of communication that glibly fills people’s hearts and minds with gutter garbage.

Blanco: When people are filled with a barrage of bad mouthed, foul and furious expletives, there is no room left for the true treasures of beauty, goodness and truth in their life.

Brown:  When people are filled with verbal trash there is no room left for graciousness, generosity and gratitude.

Blanco: You and I are totally counter-cultural; because when others encounter us and interact with us they are surprised and genuinely grateful, and it truly makes their day.

Brown: My mother always said, “Remember to mind your manners for goodness sake”.

Blanco: My mother always told us, “There is nothing that costs so little or goes as far as good manners”.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Marian Casillas, Ed.D.
Del Rio