By Namusia Weku

I was once walking in town when I noticed something in front of me. There were two friends walking together when one of them noticed his ally from the opposite direction and he went to greet his mutual friend. What struck me is that he was only friends with one of them making the other friend stand awkwardly with them as he waited for his friend to finish exchanging greetings so that they could continue with their journey to their desired destination.

It’s not uncommon to see this in many streets in our country especially. No introduction and no courtesy to regard the third party or third wheeler if you may. Etiquette is then referred to as the conventional rules of personal behaviour in a polite society, usually in ethical codes that delineate the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the norms observed in the society. Etiquette varies with different cultures and societies all over the world. In our country Kenya, we have a set of rules that govern the citizens to conduct themselves in a certain way that is acceptable in the society.

Over time, the new generation has borrowed a lot of western cultures and abandoned some of the traditions that were termed good and decent and in so doing etiquette has either been borrowed or disregarded completely.

What if we’ve lost our etiquette as a society? What’s next for us? There is not much to gain when one lacks etiquette. The little things matter and it is those things that make an individual. We must go back to our roots and look into the things we’re missing.

The aspect of respect and good demeanour is a very important in the society we live in that’s why today’s generation is termed rude and ignorant. Take care of your etiquette and situations around you will take care of themselves.