“True knowledge is knowing that we don’t know everything!” (Confucius)

“True knowledge is knowing that we don’t know everything!” (Confucius) Sometimes we need to be heard. Aristotle said that “hope is the dream of the waking man”, perhaps now is the time to try to help the youngest, and not only but also some less young people, who do not know how to say “PLEASE , THANK YOU, GOOD MORNING or GOOD AFTERNOON, GOOD EVENING.” That simple!!! It's time to try to help them. It would seem that this “trip” is long enough for them to learn to say “please” and “thank you”, “good morning”. So dedicate half an hour to memorizing "please" and fifteen minutes to practice "thank you". And then “good morning”, “good afternoon” or “good evening”, depending on the time of day! Learning from your own mistakes is always an excellent way to learn, as Albert Einstein said, “a person who never made mistakes, never tried something new”. What many learn and never tire of repeating is that the Portuguese language is very difficult. So, they rub their hands on the older ones ("you must be very intelligent to be able to speak Portuguese so well") while encouraging them to improve their English, "to be able to understand the “poor bastards” who don't know how to speak their language, so rich and so poetic." And if they still can't remember "IF YOU PLEASE" or "THANK YOU", a "GOOD MORNING", or GOOD AFTERNOON, GOOD NIGHT", it doesn't matter: it's the effort that shows good manners. As Charles Chaplin said, “if they were taking my jokes about telling truths seriously, they would have heard many truths that I insist on saying jokingly”. But the "message" is not just for younger people. It serves, perfectly, the "intelligent people of our square" (of which there are many here) who want to give an air of culture by writing in English (preferably) but who, in fact, put on a sad spectacle of hillbillies armed with turtles. I want to remember that gratitude is a powerful feeling that makes us recognize the small joys in life and value the people who make our daily lives lighter and happier. Maybe you don't know, but it's always good to remember that “our lives begin to end the day we remain silent about the things that matter”. (Martin Luther King Jr.)