Today's Gentleman

Lately I’ve been wondering about where we are setting the benchmark for behaviour and conduct, and who has influence over it anyway.

The benchmark seems to be being set lower and lower each generation and I wonder if this is due to schools, parents and other institutions holding much less sway over the youth of today than they did 20, 40, 60  years ago.  Bad manners, which used to be stigmatised and strongly dealt with,  now is often ignored and as a result, tacitly accepted.  What messages are we sending those demonstrating those bad behaviours – particularly when there are not real repercussions and they get their own way….

In the past we could at least rely on schools and educational institutions to instil some discipline in the youth if the parents weren’t too strong, but the ability of these institutions to intervene has largely been taken away.

Which brings me to my next point – what sort of exemplars are we seeing now in society?  Sporting stars, Political figures, Showbiz / Media personalities, and worse still, Reality TV fly-by-nighters.  It is unfortunately the exception rather than the rule now-a-days to find a Lady or a Gentleman in these crowds.

How much do we charge our public figures with “Gentlemanly” conduct?  It seems enough now for them to simply stay out of jail and rehab for us to accept them as a positive role-model…  I think we can expect so much more!