"Please" and "Thank You" Still Go a Long Way

It seems more and more that we are losing our basic instinct to have good manners. "Please" and "Thank you," go a long way, still to this day I believe. Maybe even more so, since it's becoming an ancient practice of old times. In a world where communication is at its greatest, we can keep in touch with friends, family, and distant relatives through a number of ways. Whether through phone, internet, or fax, we have the ability to not miss a step in each others lives. Technology is a wonderful thing and I am grateful to live in the time that we do
On the other side of the coin, our physical interaction with one another is getting lost. Before the time you came out of the womb and was handed a cell phone, I think that please thank you and excuse me were things that we all said to one another in common courtesy. Treat people how you want to be treated. Isn't that the best course of action to take toward this common interest? We need to realize: life goes on outside of our little three foot circle, the things we say and do effect the attitudes of everyone around us.
Unfortunately, it seems that were all to busy for pleasantries. I make the joke all the time, that if you live in a big city, and you were laying in the street with your arm ripped off, someone on his or her cell phone would ask you to keep the shrieking down, because, they're on the phone. It's an exaggeration, but one that holds a great deal of truth. Everything is moving so fast, what took two days one hundred years ago, takes an hour today. In the time we save, we fill it with more stuff to do. I believe this is where a small amount of kind hearted human interaction is being lost. We are so preoccupied with everything that is thrown at us, stress, bills, health, etc, that we don't realize a simple "Thank you" could brighten someone's day.
Now we have our youth growing up in a world where they believe it's not necessary to keep this unspoken rule in order. They see ignorance every day on every corner and are thinking this is how we treat each other in the world. More times than not, if I am in a situation where I can talk to a stranger to pass the time, or fill the void, I will. For some reason, there is a sense of awkwardness more often when talking to common people you see every day, that I didn't feel until a few years ago. Shouldn't we be able to stand in a line and discuss the weather, or baseball, with a person you are sharing this small, insignificant moment?
We are all people. You can be black, white, brown, blue, green, sienna, whatever. We are all the same and we need to start treating each other with a little more respect and good nature. We need to be a little more polite, hold a door for someone, or help an older person with a heavy box or bag. These small tributes to every day make life a little better, a little more tolerable at times. "Please" don't lose this. The ignorance issue grows stronger every day, and only we can make it better. "Thank you." See how easy that was?