The death of courtesy

At the end of December it’s time to develop New Year’s resolutions to correct the foibles of the prior year. In order to do this, there has to be an objective assessment of one’s flaws. However, the capacity to perceive personal shortcomings may be greatly diminished in this age of egocentricity.

A significant symbol of the age is the selfie. To those of the older generation the notion of taking a picture of yourself is unacceptably egotistical. Perhaps if the technology had been available, octogenarians would also have taken selfies in their youth. However, sometimes innovations create their own discourtesy.

A good example is the automobile directional signals. Before they were automated it was necessary for the driver to open the window and give hand signals. Now that it is much easier to signal others electronically about your intentions, drivers are often surprised by the sudden turns of others on the road, as their signals are not utilized.

Discourtesy is rampant. Officials of the New York subway system have begun a campaign to require men to sit up rather than sprawl over two seats when the car is crowded. And some women with packages will use another seat to store their possessions while other riders stand.

There has been a major deterioration in the standards of courtesy. People are often no longer concerned about the impact on their neighbors of loud music that they play. The standard now seems to be “whatever.” Consequently it is difficult to develop personal New Year’s resolutions to comply with a nonexistent standard. The next best thing is to focus on ideas to improve the quality of the national leadership to raise the status of African Americans.

The battle for civil rights was so intense and time consuming that too little attention was devoted to strategies designed for blacks to benefit from the changes. The changes in the laws did not create a desire among whites to bestow upon blacks special benefits in employment and education. Rather, the changes created opportunities that did not formerly exist, and they also created the right to sue if racial discrimination terminated those opportunities.

The most effective New Year’s resolution is to improve those skills and talents that make you more competitive in the marketplace. That is the way to make sure that some of those opportunities come your way.