Since the dawn of time, man has needed to communicate with is fellow man. In ancient times, cavemen communicated with each other through a series of grunts. Roughly 100 years after the cavemen came the invention of the printing press and since then media has remained virtually unchanged. For centuries, man lived in a neat, orderly world of communication and went by the unspoken rules of communication such as “Don’t talk too loud in public areas.” Then came the invention of the cell phone.
With the cell phone, the microwaves gave man a horrible case of amnesia, and soon all cell phone etiquette was forgotten. And chaos began its evil, evil reign. It was the worst time known in the history of mankind.
To remind everyone, your ringtone is not cool. In fact, it is annoying as hell. Regardless of what it is, the people around you don’t want to hear the latest rap song to which you and your girlfriends have shaken your booty. In the the same vein, no one wants your cell phone ringer volume at “Loud Enough to Wake the Dead.” It’s disturbing, rude and puts everyone at risk for a zombie attack.
The other day, a woman behind me on the D.C. subway, known at the Metro, got a phone call. I assume she works at an airport, because one could hear her phone ring over most commercial jet engines. Apparently, whoever it was calling her she did not want to talk to because she didn’t pick up. However, she did not feel the need to silence her phone and let it ring and ring and ring. People, silence your phones. At least she didn’t answer it, humans have a strange habit of yelling into their phones loud enough so the person on the other end at hear them from where they are standing.
Another common problem is not silencing your cell phone when you are at a meeting of some sort. Despite several warnings and that quiet times happen all the time and they should be used to it, someone always forgets to turn their cell phone off at a conference or a movie.
Politicians are especially bad with this. Last month, Rudy Giuliani was interrupted during a speech in front of the National Rifle Association by a completely unplanned call from his wife. Not only did he forget to silence his phone, he answered the phone mid-speech. Then last week, President George Bush sat down for an interview on “Ellen” when his daughter Jenna called his cell phone. First off, since when does the president keep a cell phone. Does he really need it? Is he texting Sarkozy or something? Secondly, he should have had it silenced, but like the man vying for his job, he answered his phone.
When our leaders fail to demonstrate cell phone etiquette, what hope is there for the rest of us?
Just so could make it clear which words are considered bad, Sister Cathy Avery of Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, read a list of them in front of students at St. Clare of Montefalco Catholic School.