A couple of weeks back, I asked 'Is general civility and the use of manners dwindling in 2025?'
Basically, do you see an overall decline of manners or civility in our everyday lives?
Most of the responses I received were along the lines of "yup, a decline" but there was also a goodly collection of "people are still decent".
And I completely agree.
If you're online a lot like myself (unfortunately), you can be bombarded with nastiness and stupidity.
Endless social media name-calling; opinions not necessarily buttressed by facts but defended to the end based on what 'side' you are on; bots weighing in to egg people on... you name it.
But amid the doomscrolling, if you're looking in the right place, you can still find the sweet spot – where most people can still be found – and see folks simply being good humans.
Some of my favourite pit stops as I look online for news stories are the various community groups. If anyone needs anything, you can find a group of people happily ralling to assist.
In this particular case, it was pretty simple. Someone in Errington had run out of dog food and couldn't make it to the store, or the store was closed. They checked in online with their dilemma and immediately there were a zillion offers to assist. Neighbours willing to have some picked up, dropped off... whatever was necessary.
And that's pretty much the way it is in Parksville or Qualicum Beach or Nanaimo or Duncan or Victoria or... you get the picture. I can check into those community groups and inevitably people are offering assistance.
Sometimes it's just "dang, I'm out of flour" and other times it's "I'm a little short of (whatever item) before payday, can anyone help me out?"
As much as it must be humbling in some cases to ask for help, I'm telling anyone who does need that help to never, ever be afraid to reach out. Your neighbours will inevitably have your back.
I remember as a lad my Mum would be baking and I'd sometimes get sent to a neighbour's house for a cup of sugar or something along those lines, and other children would sometimes knock on our door to do likewise. What's mine is yours kind of thing. I learned later Mum did that so our neighbours who might really need something wouldn't hesitate to ask, because of that established sharing 'arrangement' and that always stuck with me.
Obviously, we have many terrific organizations in all our communities with volunteers who selflessly give their time to help out others. And those are always worthy of our praise (and time and money).
But my favourite things remain the simple ones. Watching someone hold a door for someone else. Help someone with mobility challenges across the street. Give up your seat on the bus. Lend a neighbour a cup of sugar. Cart over a bag of dog food. Giving me the courtesy wave when I let you properly merge while driving.
The day-to-day stuff I am certain remains the norm for most folks, despite whatever clouds try to gather online.
And the best part about clicking on a few things like our neighbours sharing dog food? It meant the algorithm gremlins began feeding me all kinds of similar examples of humanity. Much better than doomscrolling.
• Do you have any examples of everyday good deeds you'd like to share? A memory of something someone did for you that still makes you smile? As always, I love to hear your own tales.
PQB News/Vancouver Island Free Daily editor Philip Wolf welcomes your questions, comments and local story ideas. He can be reached via email at [email protected]; by phone at 250-905-0029 or on Twitter @philipwolf13.
