THE EDITOR, Sir:

Life would surely be more enjoyable and rewarding if we were to utilise the common courtesies of life and practise the golden rule "do unto others as you would have them do to you". That refreshing "good morning" by each family member at home at daybreak, on the street, at the shop, at school, and at the workplace, should remain a routine in our social behaviour.

How can we forget those precious words - please, thank you, you're welcome, I am sorry? How many times have we used these simple, yet powerful words, in our everyday contact with each other? It is at an alarming rate that we desist from using these words. In fact, common courtesy is fast becoming non-existent! The Jamaican society is becoming thoughtless, crude, and impolite.

less sympathetic

I tend to be less sympathetic towards persons deemed to possess high intellect when they exhibit a lack of good social graces. It can be quite repulsive and I shudder to think of the example portrayed to the young or, by extension, our successive generations. What good does it do us all if we learn these fundamental social graces and only exhibit them on special occasions and areas of tourist attraction? There is no loss of status nor financial deprivation resulting from practising good social graces! In fact, there are numerous advantages to be derived such as being more approachable and becoming a positive example to children.

the don'ts

We must also remember the 'don'ts', some of which are - spitting in public places, males wearing caps or hats in buildings, excreting body waste in public, adjusting certain garments in public (very common among school girls) and indecent exposure. We all need to practise what we have learnt, not only for the purpose of mastery, but also for continuity.

Social graces form part of the general values and attitudes that prove lacking in all strata of the Jamaican society.

I am, etc.,

CLAUDINE E. CAMPBELL

claudineec2005@yahoo.com

Spanish Town PO St Catherine