“Be Nice.”

Signs printed with this sentiment have been springing up on lawns, sidewalks and streets, and I enjoy seeing them. They always make me smile, and I consider them worthy reminders for us all to treat each other with kindness and respect.

At the same time, I can’t help thinking it’s sad that we need these reminders — as if we are children who must be told to say please and thank you, and share our toys. But in a sense, we are a lot like children in this age of instant gratification. We have become accustomed to getting what we want, when we want it. When things don’t go smoothly, when we have to wait, when we don’t get whatever it is that we want, we often don’t behave very nicely. We get impatient, annoyed or downright angry — and not at all nice.

It can be hard to remember to be nice in this digital age, marked by frustrating levels of automation. Who among us hasn’t snarled at a telemarketing bot or cursed a lengthy wait on a customer service line? We are tense, clenched, pressured. The pace of life is too fast; we have lost personal connections. There is never enough time. All of this contributes to our being, too often, less than nice.

But as the signs prompt us to remember, we must take the time to be nice — to be, as the dictionary terms it, “pleasant; agreeable.” It’s a way to bring humanity back into our lives.

My late mother used to say that if only people would be polite, much of the world’s problems would be solved. As an arrogant teen, I argued that manners were superficial, that being polite was not enough. I was wrong. Even if we only pretend to be nice, eventually it will become genuine.

At this moment in history, our government is plagued by meanness — and that is a top-down phenomenon. The president of our country, appallingly, demonstrates mean-spirited, petty behavior. He appears to be perpetually angry, and he wants us all to be angry as well. His is an administration that divides rather than unites. One way to fight that dismal reality is to put our collective best foot forward. Treat people with respect. Have some compassion. Be patient. Slow down. Be easier on the world.

In short, be nice.

It’s something I’m working on, and I am grateful to the people who put up signs to remind me to do so. Perhaps we should send some of those signs to the White House.

Deb Stetson is a Brunswick resident.