Acknowledgment

I see bad conversational skills everywhere. There is a developing culture of talking and not listening. Does this come from absorption with devices which do not always talk back, unless dictating right or left turns to a driver? Does it come from the rap (rant) culture of popular music and poetry? Or perhaps it comes from the anonymous commentaries on Web sites, which enable a person to speak without having to acknowledge counterpoint to their comments. 

Good manners dictate acknowledging a speaker when spoken to. A glassy-eyed stare in response to being addressed by anyone is traditionally an indication of stupidity or mental defect. Not simply acknowledging the speech of another is devaluing of that person as a person worthy of a response. 

We live in an era of award ceremonies for every mundane human activity. However, human beings in public spaces increasingly refuse to reward one another with a listening ear, a simple expression of acknowledgment or an engaging smile. There is no basis for calling myself a practicing humanist if I do not engage in human interaction and in my environment. If I cannot respectfully acknowledge the approach or speech of another person, I cannot engage in the process of doing good in the world.