Is there a place in today’s society for the values that our parents grew up with? Sometimes I wonder how and why guys treat girls the way they do in 2016. I hear my parents talk about how men treated women with respect years ago and somehow that value has lost its place in our current society.

What would be so wrong to go back to those days? At least with respect to how people treat each other? Have we women really changed so much that we shouldn’t expect men to hold a door open? Help us put our coat on? Hold a chair for us when we sit down? OK, so maybe some of the old values are old fashioned for us today but don’t respect common decency, and kindness still have a place? I think we women should have more respect for ourselves and expect a little more respect from our guys and you guys out there need to understand that your girls deserve to be treated nicely, respectfully, and honestly.

Old-fashioned values need to return to today’s relationships!

1. Holding doors open for others. This doesn’t just mean guys holding doors for girls, but girls too can hold doors open for an elderly person, a person in a wheelchair, for someone who has their hands full of packages. Guys opening the car door for his date, pulling out the chair at a restaurant table, helping a girl on with her coat. OK, so these really are old fashioned but what’s wrong with doing something nice for someone else?
2. Using what my parents call the magic words: please, thank you, you’re welcome. I have to admit I don’t hear those words very often anymore. Politeness seems to have faded away long ago. Have you noticed that when someone says “thank you” the response is usually something like “yeah, no problem” or “sure thing.” How often do you hear “you’re welcome?”
3. With all the technology we have these days like cell phones how often do you actually look someone in the eyes when they’re speaking to you? Don’t you find yourself more often looking at your cell phone while another person is talking to you? The more I think about how often I myself do that the more I realize how rude that actually is. Next time you’re with someone and they’re talking to you, turn your phone off, put it down, and leave it out of sight so you’re not tempted to look at it.
4. Check up on your friends/family when you know they are sick, dealing with a problem, or need help. Don’t ignore others when you know something is wrong. A simple phone call (or even a text) asking if that person is OK, or if you can get something they need shows them you, at least, care.
5. Think before you speak. Is what you’re going to say the truth? Is it going to hurt someone’s feelings? If you don’t have something nice to say, then don’t say it!
6. Girls, value and respect yourself! The way to earn respect from others is to show you respect yourself. That includes guys! Don’t do things you’re not ready to do (drink, drugs, sex) just to impress a guy. The more you stand up for yourself the better you’ll feel about yourself. Getting drunk can be dangerous and results in making poor choices. Doing drugs, well the consequences of that can be deadly. Hooking up - well there are so many possible consequences and losing your self-respect is just one of them. We can’t expect guys to respect us if we don’t respect ourselves.
7. Live by the Golden Rule: do unto others. When others know they can depend on you to keep your word, they’ll keep theirs too. If you want others to treat you kindly, and respectfully then you need to treat others that way. If everyone lived this way we would sure have a nicer world!
8. Model your behavior after someone you admire that has good values and a high moral code. That could be a parent, teacher, spiritual leader, etc. Find someone who lives the kind of life you aspire to and begin to follow their lead.

I don’t mean to sound preachy here but I’m kind of tired of seeing my generation acting like idiots! It would be nice to see some morals and values return to how we live and if we each start with one small step maybe we can make our lives better for ourselves and those around us.