Civility

I read with interests with regards to the latest discussion on how some eateries ban children from eating in their premises. I snort at the action with disgust.

Yes, I agree. Some children can tend to be noiser than others. Some parents just do not teach their children the appropriate behaviour. I have seen multitudes of them. Hey, inappropriate behaviour transcends age. Clearly it exists in companies and organisations I just had a disagreement with.


A lady wrote into the forum today: But the logic is irrefutably sound: One rowdy child makes a pair of parents happy while the absence of a noisy brat makes a roomful of diners happy. And this article was entitled: Only way to signal civil consideration.


Whatever happened to tolerance? Is this really civil? And I wonder if this lady were a parent herself. Did she know what implications there will be? It is exactly what I do no believe in - that you will need rules to govern the actions that you take. That in a society like ours, that we will need "fines" to become civil. Where is the common sense that governs our actions? Or is this expectation of mine too much to uphold?

Noisy kids? Why cant you put them in a separate corner of the premise? Or perhaps segregate the dining area? Have we all forgotten that we were all children once? Did we not irritate the people around us with our childlike behaviour in the past, and sometimes even now?


Tolerance. Respect. As the society gets more affluent, these are lost in the woods. What more, these are our Asian values. Looks like I am a thing of the past. But I will still teach my kids my way and what I believe in. And I wonder, am I doing my kids justice? How will they survive in a selfish society like ours now, or theirs then? Perhaps, I should let the new beliefs shape their character so that they can withstand the test of time.


My values and principles that I have so firmly believed in, they have been challenged and had been unwavered till the response I got from an influential organisation and the non discreet disregard of the people around by the general public. Now, tell me, why should I remain civil to the people around me when they cant care less with people around them?


To me, this is THE generation.


DEgeneration.