![]() ![]() Who knows but that, having been shown a better way, they have not spent a sleepless night repenting? View CommentsĭEAR MISS MANNERS: In response to "thank you," I have been hearing a lot of "Of course" or "Certainly," especially from the younger generation. What she advises used to be known as solving the problem, an activity that Miss Manners accepts is old-fashioned, even if it is the only one that ever worked.Īnd just because we do not see the offenders shrivel up in front of us does not mean we have not succeeded. She realizes this runs counter to a world that is impatient when the package just ordered is not already at the door. True, Miss Manners' approach does not always provide the instant gratification of smacking our fellow citizens under the guise of good manners. Nor is it because the solutions proposed do not work. This is not because there are no solutions to rude behavior or because one must either accept rudeness or be rude oneself. It takes time to improve the world - or even, truth be known, one's friends and relations. This should be apparent, as even Miss Manners' most caustic advice is too late to touch a driver who has long since sped away, a line-cutter who is off offending new people out of reach of the Gentle Reader, or everyone else who has long forgotten what happened at that date, luncheon, meeting or class reunion. This is because the goal is not to strike someone who struck you first - the goal is not to get hit in the first place. But she more often counsels more subtle responses, which, even had the reader known them when the event occurred, would not have required a fire extinguisher. Miss Manners does, on occasion, supply responses which, though faultlessly polite, cause an offender to explode in a burst of mortification and apology. Miss Manners' field is external behavior, not internal squirming, but her concern is the implication that the victim has, or should have, given up hope of improving society.Ī fourth type of letter underscores the point: It seeks a polite response to a slight, real or imagined, that the Gentle Reader already answered with a taunting rejoinder, a rude gesture or worse. ![]() What follows is an example of something that was never OK. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don't, then who will, sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life's a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about.- "Am I just being hopelessly old-fashioned or. Just because you fail once, doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything. You'll never find that half who makes you whole and that goes for everything. And baby, I hate to say it, most of them - actually pretty much all of them are going to break your heart, but you can't give up because if you give up, you'll never find your soulmate. As for lovers, well, they'll come and go too. Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world. The ones that stay with you through everything - they're your true best friends. Girls will be your friends - they'll act like it anyway. But the good part is you get to decide how you're going to mess it up. No matter what, you're going to mess up sometimes, it's a universal truth.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |