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When my mother was alive， she used to preach to① me again and again about the value of just being nice.
“Never underestimate② the power of a smile，” she would say.
I fear she would be very disappointed looking at the world today.
I was on the phone the other day with a computer help desk. Firstly a man， then later a woman， who couldnt have been rude. And this was to a customer， who didnt know his way around a PC. The woman， in fact， seemed to be chewing the gum③ as she unemotionally clicked off a series of commands for me to perform④.
The next day I heard from a friend of mine who got a performance review without his boss looking up at him. Not once.
You see it everywhere.
Gone are the days when people cared about you. Its a sign of the times， I suspect. Many people are in many jobs they do not like. Theyre not happy. And people who arent happy arent wishing to make you happy.
And it spreads out like a cancer. Someones rude to you. Youre rude to them and to the next fellow you meet， and on and on， until we become a nation of un-smiling， annoying， worrying persons. Smiles are contagious⑤ but so are scowls⑥.
You know， my mom used to judge presidential candidates⑦ by how they smiled and if she liked them personally. I would say， “But Mom， you dont know if that smile is real！”
“Oh， yes I do，” she would tell me. “I can feel it.”
Its in their eyes， she would say. And its in their smile. The rest just kind of falls into place.
母親在世时，曾一次次对我说教与人为善的重要。
“不要低估微笑的力量。”她经常这样说。
观看当今世界，恐怕她会很失望的。
有一天，我打电话到一家电脑公司的咨询部，起先是位男士接听的，随后是位女士，他们简直无礼之极，冲我这个不熟悉电脑的顾客撒气。实际上听得出，那位女士一边嚼着口香糖，一边面无表情地噼里啪啦地给我扔过来一堆指令让我自己去查。
又一天，我听一个朋友说，他的上司在给他做业绩评估时居然没抬头看他一眼，一次也没有。
瞧，冷漠无处不在！
热情洋溢的时代消失了。冷漠成了时代特征。我想这深层原因乃是许多人在从事着他们不喜欢的职业，他们自己就不开心，而自己不开心的人别指望他让别人开心。
冷漠会像癌症一样扩散。别人对你粗鲁，你回敬别人粗鲁，如此循环往复，直至形成一个没有笑意只有愤懑的国度。笑容是有感染力的，板着脸也同样如此。
我母亲过去评价总统侯选人时，总是看他们笑得如何，是否令她喜欢。我常反诘：“妈，可您不知道那笑是真是假呀！”
她总是如此回答：“我知道，凭感觉。”
母亲常常说，真诚在眼睛里，真诚在微笑里。其余的倒容易明白了。
“Never underestimate② the power of a smile，” she would say.
I fear she would be very disappointed looking at the world today.
I was on the phone the other day with a computer help desk. Firstly a man， then later a woman， who couldnt have been rude. And this was to a customer， who didnt know his way around a PC. The woman， in fact， seemed to be chewing the gum③ as she unemotionally clicked off a series of commands for me to perform④.
The next day I heard from a friend of mine who got a performance review without his boss looking up at him. Not once.
You see it everywhere.
Gone are the days when people cared about you. Its a sign of the times， I suspect. Many people are in many jobs they do not like. Theyre not happy. And people who arent happy arent wishing to make you happy.
And it spreads out like a cancer. Someones rude to you. Youre rude to them and to the next fellow you meet， and on and on， until we become a nation of un-smiling， annoying， worrying persons. Smiles are contagious⑤ but so are scowls⑥.
You know， my mom used to judge presidential candidates⑦ by how they smiled and if she liked them personally. I would say， “But Mom， you dont know if that smile is real！”
“Oh， yes I do，” she would tell me. “I can feel it.”
Its in their eyes， she would say. And its in their smile. The rest just kind of falls into place.
母親在世时，曾一次次对我说教与人为善的重要。
“不要低估微笑的力量。”她经常这样说。
观看当今世界，恐怕她会很失望的。
有一天，我打电话到一家电脑公司的咨询部，起先是位男士接听的，随后是位女士，他们简直无礼之极，冲我这个不熟悉电脑的顾客撒气。实际上听得出，那位女士一边嚼着口香糖，一边面无表情地噼里啪啦地给我扔过来一堆指令让我自己去查。
又一天，我听一个朋友说，他的上司在给他做业绩评估时居然没抬头看他一眼，一次也没有。
瞧，冷漠无处不在！
热情洋溢的时代消失了。冷漠成了时代特征。我想这深层原因乃是许多人在从事着他们不喜欢的职业，他们自己就不开心，而自己不开心的人别指望他让别人开心。
冷漠会像癌症一样扩散。别人对你粗鲁，你回敬别人粗鲁，如此循环往复，直至形成一个没有笑意只有愤懑的国度。笑容是有感染力的，板着脸也同样如此。
我母亲过去评价总统侯选人时，总是看他们笑得如何，是否令她喜欢。我常反诘：“妈，可您不知道那笑是真是假呀！”
她总是如此回答：“我知道，凭感觉。”
母亲常常说，真诚在眼睛里，真诚在微笑里。其余的倒容易明白了。