Manners Matter

 My kids will tell you I'm obsessive about manners.  Did you say please and thank you?  Say excuse me or pardon me when you do x, y, or z.  The list goes on and on.  I comment on their tv shows to point out not so nice behavior.  In fact, i-carly is no longer welcome in our home, especially when I am within earshot.  Why?  Because of the rude side kick. 
 
Rudeness rules the day in our political culture.  Just listen to any talk show, tv or otherwise.  It's become perfectly okay to talk about others who disagree with your point of view with viciousness.   When it suits someone's agenda people are called out for their rude behavior and comments.  I don't think that one group in particular is more worthy than others to be protected from attack.  Sadly these attacks come from all sides.  We've stopped recognizing that the person on the other side has a soul, they are merely some label to be attacked.

You see rudeness on the playground and the internet and everywhere in between.    It's all about one upping someone else with a snarky comment.   We see it and laugh.  We think it's funny to watch someone get made fun of or laughed at.  A comment that has sadly made it's way into my kids' vocabulary is, " you got owned."   Aside from being grammatically incorrect, it bugs me on another level.  

The Emmancipation Proclamation happened more than a century ago to free American slaves yet somehow we let ourselves talk about each other in this way?  No, no matter how wrong I am or what stupid thing I do or say, nobody owns me.  I belong to Christ because I was made in his image and have a unique soul.  That is the only way I recognize being "owned".  That is the only way I want my kids to recognize being owned.  That is the only way I want them to see the world around them. 

I insist on manners because using courtesy recognizes the dignity of each person.   Manners acknowledge the soul. Not everyone sees it this way.  Some think of manners as a function of upbringing and a tool of snobbery.  Manners at their most basic are not a weapon but a universal language (albeit sometimes a function of culture when getting down to the nitty gritt details of personal space and eye contact) used to acknowledge each other's personhood, their soul.    The great commandment, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, predates any etiquette guide.   

Treating people with respect and expecting the same treatment in return is a powerful way to witness to the presence of Christ in all of us.