I'm always being shocked. No one signals, people don't say hello
back when you pass them in the park, people walk three abreast on the
sidewalk and don't move for anyone. Who says excuse me or sorry or
thank you anymore?
-Valerie Pringle
Rude: Where are our Manners? is a one-hour documentary exploring our ideas of modern civility, or lack thereof.
Valerie Pringle walks with civility expert, Benet Davetian, on a P.E.I. street.
People's
perception of our world is that we've become increasingly uncivil -
kids are out of control, people talk on their cellphones everywhere and
the f-word is a standard greeting.
But hasn't every generation since time began worried that their world
was becoming less tolerant and less civil? And isn't change sometimes
for the better? Not too long ago a woman wearing pants could be seen as
uncivil, and for that matter so was an African American person using a
public water fountain.
Valerie Pringle interviews Judith Martin, aka Miss Manners. Read more of the interview online.
Rude: Where are our Manners? will take a journey
through the past and into our present while asking difficult questions -
are we more uncivil, where did we go wrong, did we go wrong, and is it
possible to change?
Our guide will be Valerie Pringle, she wants answers to why our world
seems so rude. She tracks down the experts in her quest for a 21st
century guide to manners. Watch the full episode at CBC Doc Zone
