In my youth, when I walked into a room where there were adults and did not give a respectful greeting, I knew immediately, or at some point, I would be admonished.  This was called the teaching of respect, not just for adults, but in general for one another.  Like any habit, it becomes habitual over time. The same would be true about addressing adults with Mr. or Mrs.  It does not bother me in the lease if a teenager addresses me by my first name, even though I am in my seventies; it merely reflects upon the individual. 

 

I started this blog referencing protocol as a lead-in, for manners can be one of life’s first enlightenment for prodigious communications.  Do unto others as you would like done unto you.  The development of empathy with shame or fear with hate in our behavior towards others becomes instinctive through assimilation before learning right from wrong. Animals have natural stinks due to various adaptations that serve different purposes. Respect goes a long way.  A child who learns respect early learns the act of hearing attentively.  In the adult years, earlier habits of listening become a valuable tool. Listening does not mean you agree with what someone is saying, but it can demonstrate charisma, plus you may learn something.   Knowing when to speak without putting a foot in the mouth reveals character. 

 

In his wisdom, my dad preached the phrase, “A closed mouth gives way to an open mind,” which kept me out of trouble. Over the years, this has proven to lead to meaningful relationships. People love to talk, and they generally automatically connect with a good listener.

 

 “Is the glass half empty or half full?” A common expression used rhetorically to indicate that a particular situation could be cause for optimism (half full) or pessimism (half empty), or as a litmus test to determine an individual’s national or worldviews, i.e., politics; presently as our youth can see, creating a verbal impact, thereby an impasse.  Making defaming one’s character more important than the country’s welfare has become the mentality of politics, with cordiality becoming the whipping post. Which in reality made many Republicans hop off the presidential primary train. Signifying that a bully has more power than the words from the pulpit.

 

 Our Youth today have little chance of entering a room where likely optimistic, future-thinking adults are gathered; it’s the signs of the times. “It takes a village to raise a child” is no longer possible living in a fast-paced opinionated society. 

 

An antagonistic culture, with duplicity will maranade itself.  Adding acid to young minds, requiring society to inact laws to punish or correct behavior seeded, inplated by people in positions of  authority, romodels in the first place.

 

When we think of our youth, we should put them in the light: 

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”

Matthew 5:14.15 (KJV)

2016 politics have allowed the muzzle to be taken off.  Adults allow their children to yell the “B” word at political rallies, which might as well be the “N” word.  A call for a revolution at these rallies has also been heard.  Hate is hate, no matter how you slice it, and it has been my experience dealing with people who have a tendency, or the desire to dominate, lack the emotions of real empathy and shame. They would be cowardly if standing alone, never serving honorably in the military or in any capacity in the defense of our country.  Merely sucking up the freedom from a nation that gives them the right to do so while all the while weakening the strength of the nation from within.  

I will continue to blog on points to ponder with postings to BookMyStory website and domain.