A Modest Proposal
Please and Thank You
Our society is in the throes of a famine of biblical proportions – the disappearance of the time honored, relationship-lubricating ritual of “please” and “thank you.” I know, I know, we’re such a busy bunch. There are so many circles to run around in, so many Facebook pages to update, so many Twitters to feed and yet there just so many hours in the day (for now). I propose a simple but elegant time-(and face-) saving solution: From this day forward, all keyboards, both virtual and plastic, must be equipped with “please” and “thank you” keys. The placement of these new keys is arbitrary but their size should be roughly equivalent to the space bar’s and labeled with big bright yellow letters. We might even enough time to squeeze in another Groupon search.
How do you respond to the Monday morning receipt of the 150-page report you demanded on Friday evening? Just look at the keyboard you’re pounding to berate your report writer for neglecting to replace all double-hyphens with em dashes. Hit the “please” key once, launch your diatribe, then hit the “thank you” key. Done.
Lesson Learned: Say “please.” Someone might thank you for it.
