Is it a generational thing? Or a cultural disconnect? One colleague says she doesn't mind at all being called 'sweetie' because it makes her feel young. I guess I'm of the Jane Austen school of social conduct that believes 'sir' and 'ma'am,' 'please' and 'pardon me' are proper forms of address in daily discourse. I say 'excuse me, ma'am' or 'sir, could you please …' when I have a question or need assistance. Perhaps I exaggerate, but I do sometimes worry that the increasing erosion of good manners I see every day or read about could spell the end of a civilized society.

是因為年代不同了嗎？還是文化差異？我的一個同事說，她一點也不在意有人叫她“親愛的”，因為這讓她感覺自己很年輕。我猜我在社交行為準則上屬于簡•奧斯汀(Jane Austen)派，認為“先生”和“女士”，“請”和“對不起”是日常交流中適宜的說法。我會在有問題或需要幫助時說“對不起，女士”或“先生，您能……”。或許我夸大其詞了，不過我有時真的擔心，我每天看到的或是讀到的禮貌舉止的日益衰敗可能預示著文明社會的終結。