What's Happened to Good Old-Fashioned Manners?

With recent public outbursts from several public figures, many people are asking the question, what&#39;s happened to good&nbsp;old-fashioned manners?<BR><BR><A href="http://www.news9.com/global/Story.asp?s=11161911" target=_blank>Poll: Are celebrities setting a bad example of public outbursts becoming acceptable?</A>

Saturday, September 19th 2009, 6:39 pm

By: News 9


By Kirsten McIntyre and Photojournalist David Young, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- With recent public outbursts from several public figures, many people are asking the question, what's happened to good old-fashioned manners?

Millions across the world are still talking about Kanye West's public outburst at the MTV Video Music Awards last Sunday during Taylor Swift's acceptance speech. Last week, Serena Williams was seen yelling at a linesman for what she thought was a bad call during her U.S. Open match. And Congressman Joe Wilson yelled out "you lie" during President Obama's heath care address to Congress earlier this month.

Watch Kanye West's MTV VMA outburst

So what has happened to good manners? Drivers texting and cutting other cars off, actors acting badly, tweeting about someone you hate, even rudeness in the work place. So, the question to ask is, have we become a nation of boorish behavior?

Doctor Howard Kurtz of Oklahoma City University gave some insight into the alarming trend.

"We have become more of a legalistic society, and unless there is a law against it we will do it," Kurtz said.

Watch Serena Williams' tirade at the U.S. Open

According to Kurtz, as society has become more modern, people have enacted rules governing behavior and moved away from learning morals.

"We have a lot of people growing up today without those rules instilled in their consciousness, and so it seems OK to do whatever you can do unless there is a law or you get caught," Kurtz said.

He said a prime example is Kanye West. There may have been no law against jumping on the stage during the awards show, but he could have stopped himself.

"That is the moral side of things, that is his conscious, and we can assume he had the moral training necessary to make that decision to do that or not that. He chose to do it anyway," Kurtz said.

Carey Sue Vega is an etiquette expert who teaches children and adults the basics in manners.

"I think we are unfortunately heading a little bit to the boorish side and it is scary," Vega said.

She said she agrees with Kurtz that technology is playing a big role in the decline of society.

"We are disengaged right now and I really think a lot of it has to do with technology," Vega said.

Vega said she also believes that it may be a generational factor, and those raised a generation ago have a different set of beliefs.

"Everyone wants what they want when they want it. They don't want to wait for anything," Vega said.

So for now, society will continue slogging along until the day when we may actually need a law to enforce good manners.

"For a law to be put in place to treat people with respects blows our mind. To think of getting to that point in our society will be a sad day for it to be a law to be put in place but sometimes you do wonder," Vega said.

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