After Reading “The Decline of Neatness”

【Abstract】：In the article The Decline of Neatness， the author mainly mentions that sloppiness can be found everywhere in our life. For this essay， I will give a brief introduction of the author and the main contents firstly， and then I will mainly talk about my own thinking and responding to the article.

【Key Words】：Sloppiness， Thinking， Responding

1. Introduction

This article was written by Norman Cousins. He （1915-1990） was the editor of The Saturday Review for the better part of forty years. He was also the author of a dozen books and hundreds of essays and editorials. Besides having been notably active in a variey of peace organizations， he was， in later years， on the faculty of the university of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine.

2. About the Article

In “The Decline of Neatness，” Norman Cousins maintains that a “sloppiness virus” is prevalent in all areas of our society. According to Cousins， we always go after a kind of fashion which makes us look as if we had been “stamped out by cookie cutters” in regard to the way we dress. However， it is foul and violent more than just sloppy in the aspect of our sloppy speech. He says that the sloppiness in our speech may lead to our casual attitude toward violence and brutality， which will make our children’s ability of reacting and suffering gradually disappear. Finally， he mentioned that our sloppy clothing， speech， and emotions have a close relationship with the human relationship， as is evident in the casual attitude about sex， an attitude that “deadens feelings and annihilate privacy.”

3. My Thinking and Responding to the Article

I agree with Cousins’ view because I have truely realized that the “sloppiness virus” has greatly affected me， and as well as the people around me.

The sloppiness virus exists in people’s behavior in public places. I like to travel， and every holiday I will go somewhere by train. However， I will feel very sad if I get “a hard seat”， not a “sleeping berth”， because some people’s sloppy behavior makes me uncomfortable. I remember that a man who was seated in front of me took off his shoes and put his dirty feet beside me， and suddenly， a kind of foul smell arose. This kind of phenomenon is common. These people think that they since have paid for the ticket， they have the right to do anything they want without caring about the feelings of others.

Also， the sloppiness virus affects our attitude toward relationship， especially in college relationship. We all know that it is a common thing to fall in love with somebody at the university. It is true that every one has a boy friend or a girl friend. However， some man have a girl friend not because they really fall in love with somebody but because they think they needs a girl friend. Maybe out of loneliness or some other reasons， he or she changes boy friend or girl friend frequently. In their mind， they can make friend or broke the relationship with any girl or boy， because they are just playing with each other. Actually， this kind of thinking about relationship is popular among us， especially among college students. We regard it as a kind of “fashion”.

Finally， I also see the sloppiness virus in our attitude about life. My mother always says that I am too naive， because I always hope my life will be full of happiness and without pain; I always want to enjoy life， and do not want to do any hard things. I do not want to study， but I want to have a good job. I do not want to work hard， but I want to have a good result. In fact， this kind of attitude about life is very common in our society. We all like living in a fantasy world instead of doing something.

So， it’s no doubt that “the sloppiness virus” raised by Norman Cousins can be found everywhere in our society. We always want to be sloppy： we may have sloppy behavior in public places; we may have a sloppy attitude toward relationships; or we may have a sloppy attitude about our life. However， all this sloppiness should be realized and changed by human beings.