38. The speaker claims that simple courtesy and good manners are disappearing from
& W" {, \2 r$ s9 S0 }1 g9 nmodern life, and that the quality of our lives is therefore deteriorating. While I do 4 {4 `( L ~# o; A0 r
encounter frequent instances of discourtesy and bad manners, I also encounter many 8 O' y! v) I n1 ?) H) l; n+ i; J
instances of the opposite behavior. For this reason, and because negative experiences ) _" p4 j! E8 n2 j# n* {0 U
tend to be more memorable and newsworthy, I find the speaker's claim to be dubious., b8 f1 F( `, I9 E$ F1 e+ G
Most people encounter multiple instances of ordinary courtesy and good manners ! B" n( J" V u3 U
every day—simple acts such as smokers asking whether anyone minds if they light up,
% u% B d7 b* o1 i7 ?, qpeople letting others with fewer items ahead in grocery-store lines, and freeway drivers
7 ^8 _1 B/ q% r) ?/ B9 Vswitching lanes to accommodate faster drivers or those entering via on-ramps.
, I) X7 s3 ~" |: e* o" LAdmittedly, most people also encounter discourtesy or poor manners on a daily basis—/ g n e2 T0 D- [/ c1 M B
people using obscene language in public places where young children are present, and
) w K3 x; k; W- f0 y c* B2 j, b/ gbusiness associates intentionally ignoring phone calls, to name a few. However, such ( e3 y4 z, D x6 v
acts do not prove that good manners and courtesy are disappearing; they simply show
6 [. D$ n1 ?/ y" Uthat both courtesy and discourtesy abound in everyday life. Thus the claim that courtesy # E5 r; ?) L( d; d$ ?7 d: U7 }) d+ k
and good manners are disappearing grossly distorts reality.
0 g: b- C, w, E4 d& s Another -reason that the claim is suspect is that we tend to remember negative 9 x9 A- Z% Q! `7 {& H
encounters with people more so than positive ones, probably because bad experiences
' @3 X0 H$ O8 D) c7 {; Ztend to be more traumatic and sensational, if not more interesting to talk about. The , j. `8 c* q% F% J7 P, a
news stories that the media chooses to focus on certainly support this rationale.
4 ^0 T M& F0 p0 i& K8 EHowever the fact that we remember, hear about, and read about discourtesy more than ' ~. S w2 G7 C3 ^3 w
about courtesy shows neither that discourtesy is increasing nor that courtesy is
2 v, r; y: P o4 }. Y, q) c" Cdecreasing. It simply shows that negative experiences leave "stranger impressions and
0 A" a8 q) f0 v s/ Ztend to be more sensational. In fact, I suspect that if one were to tally up one's daily ! U2 z. [) K( P4 W
encounters with both types of behavior, one would conclude that good manners and 3 i* I5 C- R p) L- h
courtesy are far more prevalent than the opposite behavior.9 F5 q$ ]6 i, s `* K( G% n: l8 h
In conclusion, the speaker's claim that common courtesy and good manners are : W+ G6 {7 y" O& N+ i
disappearing is not born out by everyday experience. I suspect the speaker has failed to
# ]& f, t. b$ W4 i) F, N8 O9 Wconsider that negative experiences leave stronger impressions on our memory and are
# ]4 g3 w# |* n7 }4 kmore interesting to relate to others than positive ones. |