Politeness

How polite are you? Do you still say ‘good morning’, hold the door open and offer a helping hand when someone is struggling to cross the road or get on and off the bus or train? Do you wait a moment in the lift so that someone else can get in too?
Do you keep listening after asking ‘How are you?’, or do you cut every conversation short and refuse to listen to others? Do you return the favour, or do you simply not care if everyone else is working themselves to the bone?
Are you that smoker who keeps others waiting, and do you talk loudly on the phone so that everyone can hear what you’re talking about, completely disregarding privacy – both your own and that of the person you’re speaking to?
Do you still say ‘thank you very much’ and address people with respect?

Lately, I’ve been hearing more and more people on public transport and in shops talking about the growing lack of respect, the aggression and how quickly society is changing for the worse for everyone.
Does that bother me? To some extent. I’ve noticed that, for many people, saying hello is something that’s no longer done, and wishing each other a nice day is certainly out of the question.

Is it possible to change this? I don’t think so. Introverts find it difficult to strike up a conversation, and extroverts are often seen as exhausting. On top of that, for many people, exhaustion and stress – just like work pressure – are playing an increasingly significant role, and it’s hard to take a step back in such circumstances.
But anyone who doesn’t want to feel lonely will have to get out and about, strike up a conversation now and then, and show genuine interest and respect for other people’s ways of thinking and living. Those who manage to do so may be pleasantly surprised. Let’s be honest: AI is no substitute for human attention, however nice that might be.

_{Prompt: see title
28-7-2026}

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