Thanks, and other courtesies

Thanks for reading. I mean it.

Thanks for spending your hard earned time with me. 

(I don't really mean that.)

Not that I don't appreciate you visiting. I really do. But when I exaggerate the level of appreciation, it probably comes off as phony, or even sarcastic.
I doubt I've ever been a paragon of courtly behavior. I'm not awful. Just not a role model. In truth, I have no business writing a blog about this. Maybe it's an age thing. Remember how your parents and grandparents used to bemoan the loss of manners in society? I'm basically turning into them. A deserved irony.
Which leads me to what's on my mind. The simple phrase "thank you."
I used to live in the south, where folks are polite. It's in the southern upbringing. But I don't get a sense that it's always sincere. Ironically, in the much more brusque northeast, folks here may not say thanks as much, but they're more likely, in my experience, to show appreciation from the heart. The best combination in my experience, is the midwest. Where people say thanks and, I sense, really mean it.
The words "thank you" may be the two most powerful words on the planet, when meant sincerely. I've heard that all prayer can be classified into four categories: "Wow", "Oops", "Please", and "Thanks."
On a secular level, this last category troubles me. Maybe it's just me but I don't hear the "T" word/phrase as much as I used to. We have a "thank you" gap.
The true test is the door. Do people hold a door open for you? Do you do the same? If so, does the recipient of your good deed say thank you? I do try to make a point to hold the door open for people. Some notice and say thanks. A larger group completely ignores the courtesy. The largest group of all mumbles what sounds close enough to "thanks".  Which is good enough for me. Quite often, they're talking on the phone or texting, which I've grudgingly come to accept as the norm today.  

I can't definitively say that we as a society are seeing our manners erode. I just sense it. And it's not just the door thing. In my local library, a place I like to do work at, about once a week, there'll be someone talking in a normal to loud conversational voice. As if they're outdoors. And the library staff won't "shhh" him/her. Aren't librarians trained to "sssh"? Isn't there a "sssh"101 course that's required? Apparently, it's not part of the curriculum anymore. So I take it upon myself, with a little voice in the back of my head saying "Are you insane? What if they threaten you? What if they have a gun?" But I'm learning to, as the western cliche goes, "smile when you say that". I consciously keep a smile and ask, nicely, if they could lower their voice. And I do NOT make eye contact. In fact, I walk away. This method has yet to backfire. But still, I'm angry that I have to do this at all. And if it's a phone call, that's even more of a challenge.
Each time, I ask myself why this is necessary. Don't people get it? Were they raised this way?
I suspect every person who ever hit their mid-50's says the same thing. (In 10 years, of course, no one will say it. They'll text it instead)
I just read an article saying that most students openly text in class during lectures. As an adjunct professor, I see it too. I tell my students that I don't allow it. They have no reaction. And some apparently forget that it's my class rule, so they need to be reminded again. I haven't yet deducted behavior points for this, but I'd consider it. I also have two students in my class who talk to each other incessantly. I've warned them, only to see it abate, then pick back up again.
At times, I ask myself what is wrong with society? But in my more lucid moments, I see this as a classic "one bad apple" thing. If I were to evaluate each person I meet on their courtesy, I suspect I'd be more hopeful. And it's also true that as technology changes at an ever increasing rate, we have that much more of a challenge in adjusting to it. Texting and cell phones being the most obvious examples.
It's probably important to make some adjustments to the new realities. It's certainly healthier. Maybe it's just the core courtesies that need to be kept as they are. It's really as simple as the Golden Rule, something that exists, in some form, in every major religion.
And a sincere thank you heads the list.

So...thanks for reading. And I mean it.