Few people seem to follow the rules

Everywhere we go, whether by car, horse, bike or on foot in our daily travels, there are hosts of errors evident along the way.

People don't follow the basic rules in society. Some of these rules have been handed down for centuries and are considered to be etiquette of one area or the other.

I am appalled at how many children and adults violate basic rules in bicycling. When we kids walked or rode bikes to school, we got lessons at school on the rules of the road. Pedestrians faced the traffic walking alongside any roadway where automobiles and other motorized vehicles traveled.

Bicycles went with the traffic and signaled turns with the left arm: Straight out for left, bent upwards for right and bent down for a stop. We had reflectors on the bikes and a headlight and taillight for night riding.

Whether we rode or walked, we were instructed to wear light-colored clothing so oncoming motorists could clearly see us.

Today, you never know where the ignorant bicyclist is going to come from. They use the crosswalks at full bore rather that dismounting and walking through it like the pedestrians it was designed for.

Wheelchairs are the exceptions for disabled persons. But I don't remember bicycles considered for this category.

Today you see kids and adults walking down the middle of a county road, as if defying the motorists to hit them.

Garbage receptacles are designed for garbage, trash that includes paper drinking cups, hamburger wrapping, straws and anything else a person doesn't want to pack around after a meal. But where do they end up in many places? Sometimes a mere 10 feet from garbage can on the ground or left in the grocery shopping basket. Many times I have searched and searched for one shopping basket that was free of debris.

Just think about all those little itsy, bitsy rules that cause somebody to do the job of all those inconsiderate, disgusting derelicts taking up our air.

When you add them all up, put them in one small public place, whew, what a mess we would be wading through.

The world owes these offenders of basic considerations a living, you know.

And, while I'm on the subject, some of these offenders of common courtesy are out on our street corners scamming for money, blatantly requesting it for alcohol, gambling or drugs. The signs are getting quiet brazen these days.

"Train up a child in the ways he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." That quote is from the Bible, but it has a lot of common-sense application.

Children are learning what they are picking up from whomever is leading them.

I'm not one for uniforms, but today I think it is probably the most necessary rule a school could implement. They all look alike at a glance but the dedicated ones can still excel as their pace without being judged on the name brand clothing they aren't wearing. These name brands are currently priced way beyond any reasonable figure. It seems to me that too many items on clearance racks are priced how those items should have been marked in the first place.

Besides all that, what the department stores are promoting these days each year become a bit more skimpy and revealing. What do you expect kids to do when they are thrown into this kind of visualization?

I'm sorry, but the smallest of rules need to change. The regard for human decency needs to be lifted to a higher expectancy. Make it popular to be decent! Now, there's a novel concept. How about that, clothing designers? Bring some decency back to an ultra-morality that catches on. Are we just stupid being led around by the nose?

Clean elegance is still desirable, but I have to admit the classic look reeks of decency.

It's high time Americans stand their ground when it comes to patriotism, moral decency and following the rules no matter how insignificant they may seem.

Traditional grass-roots with an old fashioned spin needs some momentum. America can be reshaped into doing the right thing, acting the right way and living a healthier lifestyle.