The beginning of the end

I have been driven to press by the decline of the world around me.

As a boy, I was taught by nanny, that when things went bad I had simply to hold my head high and repeat to myself that 'this day shall pass, as all such days shall pass'. I find myself uttering the mantra with increasing frequency as I am confronted daily by the blatant disregard for the simple rules of social etiquette, those most basic of laws, that hold the fabric of our society together.

The placing of ones cutlery together at the end of a meal is where it starts. Look around you the next time your at Claridge's and see how many people place their cutlery together once they are done with their Irish Lamb cutlets. It is one of the earliest rules we are taught, a signal to the staff and others, that we are done and content. I feel for the young waiter of today, as he darts nervously around the table of diners that appear to have stopped eating, but have not placed their cutlery together. What ever is he to do, interrupt?

We are born wild, as animals, screeching and howling at the world. From the very beginning the taming commences. 'Shhhhh' is the first sound we hear, as those around us begin to silence and calm us. This goes on for years, with wild running children told to stop and walk. Sit still. Don't yell.

Without these social rules we face a return to the barbarian days of yore. One can't play cricket or rugby without respect for the rules of sport, it is simply not allowed. The same level of stringent guidelines must be followed within society, lest we see the social divide grow beyond repair.