What do ‘other people’ do that you hate? What really riles you up to a soapbox mounting, venom-spewing, frothing pitbull of righteous indignation?

Have I opened Pandora’s Box? Everyone, I believe, has something that will transform him or her from a serene saint into a psychotic cyclone of slobbering condemnation.

Courtesy and respect can come in various forms and practices. I am a Southern expat, raised in Florida and Alabama and witness to the genteel side of the Dixie experience. We were rural, lower working-class folks, just a shade above dirt poor. We could have been stereotypical Southern hicks if not for the influence of my mother, who wanted us to be the type of folks her mother’s upholstery customers were: well mannered, socially aware, upper-class folks.

My Grandma Kirk taught that manners and courtesy are always affordable.

Coming from those roots, I am perplexed how some consider loud, vulgar, profane language and music to be acceptable, and how those who willingly addict themselves to tobacco force everyone to participate in their filthy, smelly, gross habits. Smoking in public places is a choice only one party gets to make. The rest of us have to smell that acrid, lingering stench and see the thousands of butts everywhere, as if the used remains of their drug delivery system is somehow not trashy, tacky litter. The “smoke free” chew crowd leaving their slimy wads in water fountains, sinks and containers of every kind are as bad or worse, and may be causing the CMU recycling contractors to withdraw their services due to their ersatz spittoons nauseating workers who handle the receptacles.

Continuing, I will include boom-boom sound systems rattling windows blocks away, loud exhausts waking sleepers, trash hurlers littering everything in sight, graffiti painters degrading the public and trying to pass their visual pollution off as ‘art,’ drunkards assailing patrons of eateries, and drivers whose lack of skills and respect makes me wonder if they could get a passing grade on an IQ test.

At the base of all of this is a blatant disregard for the rights and consideration of the fellow inhabitants of this world.

Were these folks raised by jackals?

Ironically, most of the offenders cry like scalded dogs when someone abrogates their rights and sensibilities. I believe that most of them were not taught to think outside their own selfish sphere and could not comprehend that there are people who do not like their behaviors and the consequences thereof.

Courtesy costs the practitioner little and yields benefits beyond expectation. Those who lack it eventually find themselves shunned socially, limited vocationally and isolated in a self-imposed microcosm of banal mediocrity, or worse.

Self-awareness, introspection and empathy elevate us, our behavior and our effect for good, in this increasingly crowded world.

Be a rebel and start a trend today by thinking outside your skin and choosing to be courteous in word and deed. It won’t hurt.