The Next Day's Apology Is Just "More Attention," Isn't It?

We need a quick infusion of manners in this country. I realize that a certain segment of the society has grown up with parents that told them that anything they did was okay, and everybody got ribbons in the kindergarten race, but we need to wake up and relearn some manners.

First and foremost, we don't scream loud insults when someone is making a public speech.

Specifically, yelling "You lie!" at the President of the United States when he's addressing a joint session of Congress is not acceptable behavior. Someone ought to take Rep. Joe Wilson, (R) South Carolina, out behind a shed somewhere and give him a switching on his bare fanny.

I do not volunteer to be that person, and frankly, I'd like it to be his mama. She should have taught him better manners in the first place, but it's never to late to start, right?

I'm not a big fan of Obama; neither am I opposed to his administration. I'm sort of on the fence. On one hand, he does seem to want a lot of primetime access to the American people. On the other hand, I can't fathom why some Americans were opposed to his speaking to school children. Hasn't every other American president spoken to children at some point? Didn't that right come implicit with the big chair when we voted him in?

Second, when someone wins an award and is in the midst of her acceptance speech, perhaps even the part where sweet-as-sugar Taylor Swift says that winning was the dream of a lifetime, you don't storm the stage, snatch the microphone out of her hand and argue for someone else.

You just don't, Kanye West. And everybody in that auditorium knew it except you.

The place to do that, every bit as tacky and pointless, is back-stage where the press is gathered. "Tell it to the people who care," ie the media. Or blab it at the door of any of the after-parties that crowd the night ahead.

Oh, unless you want to have all the world's attention on you the next day, waiting for an apology and retribution. Unless the point was to hype your appearance on the opening night of Jay Leno's Tonight Show. Wowzer, there is some manipulation of the American public going on these days! Along with a deep understanding of the adage, "Any publicity is good as long as you spell my name right."

We have a lot of growing up to do in this country. Like a lot of Americans whose mindset wasn't incubated in a pool of money or power, I am hoping at some point, those at the "top" (wherever and whatever that means) will start to make some headway on that project.