Courtesy makes the world a better place

A few weekends ago I was in Steamboat Springs, Colo., where I had spent three days helping my oldest son, Jeff, move into his condominium (a story I'll save for later). At our farewell lunch at a local Mexican restaurant, the waitress commented on how kind we were to her, and she thanked us for being so nice. We hadn't done anything out of the ordinary, and I told Jeff I was surprised by her comment. He informed me that many of the tourists there are "loaded" and typically demanding and rude to the waitresses. Now, I'm not trying to pick on wealthy people because certainly not all wealthy people are rude nor are all rude people wealthy, but I have always struggled with snobs ... the ones who, because of their financial status, think they are entitled.

In my life it seems that I have had more than my share of rude encounters with the wealthy. Growing up poor allowed for not a few of those situations. During my grade school days, for example, one wealthy neighbor never allowed me into her home. Her daughter would play kick-the-can nightly with my brothers and me, but always on our sidewalk--never hers. She could come into our home, but her back porch was as far as we were allowed entry into hers.

As a flight attendant in my early twenties, I was cautioned against working first-class on the New York-Miami run. I should have listened. One particularly rude couple informed me to not bother them unless they snapped their fingers--then I was to come "on the double."

By the end of the month, the other attendants and I came up with our own spin on the "buckle your seatbelt" announcement. "Oh, yes, for you rude people who think you are better than me because you happen to own a Cadillac and I had to hitch-hike to get to the airport this morning, let's get this straight. 'Please' and 'thank-you' will get you better service on this aircraft. Snapping your fingers might get them cut off. Thank you, and fly United."

I remember thinking that if I ever had money, I would never, ever treat someone unkindly just because they didn't.

For those wealthy who feel superior because of it and who devalue others who have less, it's easy to see how rudeness occurs. To be honest, I am really not in a position to know what causes someone to be unkind to someone else. What I do know is that when we treat someone unkindly, no matter what the cause of our words or actions, we have violated one of Jesus' most fundamental teachings: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." If we can follow that teaching and treat others--whether they be a waitress, a poor little girl, or a flight attendant--like we would like to be treated ourselves, the world would be a much better place.