h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I was brought up by very strict parents. I learnt very early on that being polite was what was expected of me, and if I was rude, I was told off. Being on time, being well presented, being neat and tidy. I remember being taken to a very posh restaurant when I was 6 or 7 and my parents being complimented on my table manners and my behaviour. They were very proud of me, and I was very proud of myself.

These days politeness does not seem to be on the child education agenda. Parents are either too busy working to pay the mortgage and the tax bills, or they simply cant be arsed. I prefer to hope it is the former rather than the latter, because if it is the latter then I do not think there is much hope for society in general.

I always hold doors open for people or say thank you to the people who hold doors open for me. I say please when I ask someone to help me, and I smile at strangers. When people talk to me in the queue at the bank or on public transport, I am polite to them and listen and chat. Because it is polite to do so, and I may be the only human contact these people get from one day to the next. I had better make it a nice experience for them!

The only way to solve the current epidemic of rudeness is to teach children to be polite. My parents taught me, and I hope that I am able to teach any children I might have to be polite also. Sorry I do not have anything particularly clever to say by way of a solution to the problem, but i believe that it is essential for children to learn to say please and thank you and to be kind to their fellow beings.