As we are drawing close to another year I make sure that I always invoke for the world and especially old age. The startling episode that took place with a mum and a passenger in one of the trains just made me send shivers down my spine (“Social media users praise women who refused to give up her first-class seat,” Oct. 29, Gulf Today website).

What’s even dispiriting is the fact that the world praises the passenger who was seated and refused to give this old woman a seat. Our world is now a turnaround to be such that people appreciate the wrongdoing and consider you top-notch.  Kindness and etiquette have lost their charm and I am on a quest wondering where the world is heading to. These things happen abroad and it’s taboo. Apparently, we live in a notorious world that is driving us to be self-centred.

With places getting beautifully developed and with many facilities available and open to the public I see a decline in “attitude.” We say education starts from home but sadly this is not the real portrait. As technology has taken its toll the way of logical thinking patterns have been switched, affecting our lifestyles, moral values and etiquette.

Emphasis should be placed on respect, decency, and compassion for others. For those who need more practice or just some polishing up on their etiquette skills, there are several basic principles anyone can follow to always exhibit good manners.

Humanity is not just to showcase your ego and get the maximum number of likes on socials. We do it from the heart and forever without anyone giving us a tip-off. Remember to always have a helping mentality and at the same time remember what goes around comes around.

Etiquette like holding the door for you, giving up your seat to someone elderly or a lady who is pregnant are a matter of an act of kindness. But for many, the brains take a little stretch to work and act accordingly. Chivalry seems to be a vanishing trait but it shouldn’t become extinct altogether. They seem at times to be lost art or perhaps just dreadfully ignored. Put on your thinking caps and it’s time to brush on our moral values and etiquette to improve social relations with others at both professional and personal levels. Perhaps a refresher course might help all of us.

Mathew Litty — Dubai