BE NICE

FROM THE EDITOR

NOW MORE THAN EVER,

What has happened to civility? Decorum? Manners?

Are these traits no longer part and parcel of the American or even Texan psyche?

It seems during the last few years, I’ve been seeing more frowns than smiles, fewer waves and a decline in friendly hellos.

Not so long ago when I drove my pickup around these parts, other drivers passing in the oncoming lane would instinctively raise a forefinger from the steering wheel in a ubiquitous greeting.

Sometimes I’d raise my finger first to say hello.

The gesture symbolized a simple, wordless way to signal that myself and the other motorist were having a shared experience as fellow travelers, that we were in this together, however briefly, on our separate journeys; that we were neighbors passing on the road.

Now that I think about it, I don’t believe I’ve seen that raised finger on the road in months. Well, at least not an extended forefinger, anyway.

And I, too, probably have offered fewer finger waves to other drivers these days.

I get that times are tough, but if you think about it, times have always been tough.

Every generation has faced its share of calamities, from wars and depressions to pandemics.

Across the stretch of human history, most folks actually had it worse than us, although now we’ve reached a point where technology will allow us to wipe out the human race if we so choose. Or at least push us back into a new dark age. Should these existential concerns really dampen our ability to perform simple acts of politeness? Should everyday kindness to one another be cast aside as we let anxiety and frustration overcome us?

I think not. Now more than ever, we must practice civility.

A simple smile, a hearty wave, a genial greeting can do wonders to turn around a bad day or at least make a bad day less so. There is plenty of research to show that small acts of kindness go a long way to improving a person’s outlook.

Manners also say something about a person’s character.

Flaring up with road rage, trolling the internet, making ugly comments at a public meeting or any other hundreds of ways to lose your cool generally do not help you, and certainly don’t endear you to anyone else.

In the face of mounting adversity both at home and across the planet, it is important for all of us to remain courteous to one another and remember that whatever we face, we face together.