young with big ears

It's funny thinking how easy it was to make friends in preschool and kindergarten. Now that we're grown it seems silly how things such as looks, money, social status, and other frivolous things get in the way. All our lives we're told to treat everyone as you would like to be treated. How many of us actually follow this simple rule. Sure it's a nice idea but rude behavior has been taught and instilled in each of us at a young age. Children do as they see. If they hear someone speak negatively to another, they in turn bad mouth people they associate with. I have four younger brothers who bring home friends all the time. I will admit they aren't perfect when making and keeping friends but then again who is? A couple of days ago my youngest brother was playing video games with one of his new friends from down the street. They were arguing about the game which caught my attention. I listened for a couple of minutes. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Both boys were calling each other names and telling each other to shut up. As soon as I got them to calm down and Alex went home, I asked my brother where he had learned to be so rude. I felt a bit guilty when he told me he learned it from me and my other brothers fighting. I guess we don't realize what we do and say impacts people we aren't even talking to. Maybe the reason it's so much harder to make friends these days is because we have had years of practice in rudeness.