Common Courtesy, Not so Common

Let's talk manners. I think it goes without saying, but I am going to say it anyway, people with manners are a dying breed. People just do not say please, thank you, excuse me, etc., anymore. I am curious how this happened. I think I understand why most young people don't have manners. It boils down to, how can you expect the young ones to have manners when their parents don't have manners. But why on earth don't the older people have common courtesy? Most people my age and older were taught by our parents, grandparents, teachers, employers, neighbors and strangers how to be courteous to others. So, why did all the Manners 101 courses fail us so miserably? You can be at a public gathering and someone can make you get up from your seat, step on your toes, knock over your Coke, and you don't get so much as a grunt out of them. The funny thing is, when I do the same thing, and say excuse me, or sorry, peoples faces light up, and all is forgiven. Those expressions are very powerful. Yet people seem to deliberately avoid expressing them. Again, I ask, WHY? The truth is, I don't know. Sign of the times I guess. But, I find it interesting that men in prison use the expressions excuse me and I am sorry more than supposed civilized people. Then again, I am not worried about being beaten to death with a pillow case full of unopened soda cans, or stuck with a shiv in the dining hall, all because I didn't say sorry for stepping on some psychos shoe. Wouldn't that be an interesting society. You bump into a pregnant lady in the grocery store and she proceeds to chuck unopened cans of soup at your head. Or you step in front of a seemingly mild mannered gentleman at a sporting goods store and he smacks you in the knee with the baseball bat he was about to purchase. Then again, I guess we do kind of live in that kind of society. You would think in a day and age when people "go postal" and have "road rage" that people might be a little more courteous. You never know when the person you don't say excuse me to is just one "dis" away from going out to the car and getting their 9mm. Fear can be a pretty good motivator. But apparently not when it comes to manners. So, if for no other reason that to keep yourself safe, but more importantly other people deserve our respect. Treat people the way you want to be treated, and I am telling you, I like it when people use the peculiarly uncommon, common courtesy.