Good Manners

    A passenger said to a conductor, ‘Top’, instead of top please’. Angry at this, the lift-man threw the passenger out of the lift. Impoliteness is not a legal offense. If a thief enters my house, I can resist. But I cannot beat a man who insults or misbehaves with me. Law has no punishment for bad manners, if we were to beat others for bad manners, our fists would never be idle and the gutters of the city would contain blood only.

    The omission of ‘please’ has hurt the lift-man. There is compensation for physical attack. There is no compensation for violation of good manners. If anybody does you a physical damage, you can go to the court of laws. Further, the pain of injury also subsides with time. But you cannot go to the court for your insult. Moreover, you can never forget your insult.

     Bad temper and bad manners are infectious. They spread fast. Though law does not compel me to say ‘please’.’ please’ and ‘thank you’ are the terms which show our modesty. The passenger made a mistake when he commanded at a time when he should have requested.

     Man is a social creature. He is surrounded by people. He needs social services just as other need. Good manners demand that in our dealings with others, we must be polite. We lose nothing through courteous conduct. On the other hand, we may land in trouble on account of our rudeness.

     Well begun is half done, the moment you begin on a polite note, you create a congenial situation. No matter how difficult your job is, it becomes easier.

      Politeness is a quality of blood. A man, polite to the core, will always display his politeness. He will derive dividends for his good manners. What is more important, he can encourage others to inmate his example