Quit squawking

 I was watching a video that had been posted on facebook. It was apparently recorded originally on film and then digitized. A wonderful thing. A comment was made about the way the people were dressed. It was a barbecue, but the people were all dressed very nicely. The ladies in their dresses and men in slacks and button down shirts. My immediate response to this comment was, " that was back when we shared polite company."
 I can remember my mother using that expression to instruct us children. You don't do that in polite company dear. One does not say things like that in polite company. After a while you came to understand that certain patterns of speech and behaviours were unacceptable in the general public. They may be tolerated or accepted at home but not in the general public.

One had to be accepted into anothers confidence before those actions were accepted. Only friends and family were exposed to the real you. It truly was a different time. I think an awful lot of that is lost in today's world. Now it is more of a, take me as I am, kinda world. No pretense, or being on your best behaviour. And that,on the surface would seem to be a good thing. Looking back though, I'm not so sure. Watching that little film clip took me back.

Back in time to a place were people cared for one another. Back to a time when people behaved cordially. Back to a time where one enjoyed " polite company."

You knew what was expected of you and what to expect of others. Occasionally someone would act out, usually as a result of overindulgence. Occasionally an altercation may happen. But, in general I think we were more civilized toward one another. We were a bit more restrained. 

I guess back in the day we were just a bit more subtle about things. Now it is shock and awe ! 

The past usually does seem better than today. We tend to forget about the bad days and recall mostly the good. That is the way most of us think. Nostalgia is always a good thing. In this case I think a return to " polite company " would do us no harm, and may just improve things a bit.

 In the case of social media the tables have been reversed. We tend to treat the ones we know with a bit more " polite tolerance " than strangers. Back in the old days the opposite was true. We were, as a rule, polite to strangers. We were instructed, as I mentioned, by our parents in the social graces. They called it behaving yourself, don't act like an animal ! But this social media is a no holds barred free for all. Problem is, as I see it, this has spread to society in general. It's an aggressive approach ! It is an aggression without consequence however. That is what the most aggressive ones of all are campaigning for. I can say and do whatever I want without consequence. That may be true on social media sites, but it ain't gonna work in the real world. Just turn on the news and you can see the proof of that. The government has even gotten involved with the defining of " hate speech. " It's a crime to say certain things in a certain way ! Back in the day however hate speech may be met with those occasional altercations I mentioned. It really was a risk and reward kinda thing. Is what you are about to say worth the risk ? Generally speaking it is was better to be polite, keep your opinion to yourself and move on. Birds of a feather and all that. When you get home, into the nest so to speak, you can squawk all you like. Do that stuff in public, in polite company, and you just might meet with some resistance.