So I was in Washington D.C. several years ago taking a seminar in ethics and civility that is required by the D.C. Bar ... of which I am now a member in good standing. Many, myself included, found the idea funny that the beltway has such a course when the seat of our nation's power is so rife with just the opposite type of conduct.
For that reason, I have been reminded of a book that I read recently that goes through 110 "Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour In Company and Conversation" that a 14 year old George Washington was said to have penned in 1744 and copied from another source as some sort of writing assignment. Many of the rules are outdated but there are many that are just as applicable today. So I thought it would be a fun little series to start blogging them here ... every so often. Enjoy ... and don't skip ahead!
1. Every Action done in Company, ought to be with some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present.How more basic can you get than that? This should be the Golden Rule of Civility. Indeed, everything else that follows gets much more specific ... sometimes much much more specific.
I often hear people say how they are offended by things that don't phase me. Other times I find that I get offended about something very specific. I suppose that it the state of our modern society where everyone seems to have lost their ability to filter themselves. Watching the stuff that some people post on Facebook leaves me gobsmacked at times. So, there we are ... civility is a good thing but what is it? We shall see.
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