Politeness - Part One

There is no point in giving money to people unwilling to act as contractually obliged to perform.

What is your acquaintance with contract law in Australia, and elsewhere?

What is your acquaintance with the social contract in Australia, and elsewhere?

What is your acquaintance with the arrogance associated with social status in Australia, especially social status as expressed through the mass media and conspicuous consumption?

How do you promote peace and civility if not through your leadership?

Perhaps you are an entertainer of some sort.

Perhaps you entertain people with stories about ancient mythologies, including purportedly religious ones you claim to have relevance in the present.

Perhaps you often insult the intelligence of reasonable people.

Unfortunately, most people do not listen to politeness.  They do not listen to well-reasoned points of view.  They listen to entertainers, even when those entertainers are aggressive in fact and/or fiction.

How often do you attempt to entertain people instead of being your authentic self?

How polite or otherwise is the real you?

Perhaps you do not associate politeness with authenticity at all.

The etymology of being polite is associated with having polish, smoothness, cleanliness and refinement. 

Civility is associated with the Latin civis and the Greek polis.

Politeness may sometimes be dismissed as superficial, like a platitude.  It may be regarded as an empty sentiment and a contrived performance, much like superficial charm.

You may have found yourself in a no-win situation quite often when expectations associated with politeness are in conflict with urgent needs, possibly including your own needs. 

When politeness reflects an outdated view of etiquette rather than necessities in terms of health, hygiene, privacy and safety, how do you respond?

Authentic courtesy is associated with an informed acquaintance with health, hygiene, privacy and safety.

You may have noticed that Civility Today mostly expresses standard English as politely as necessary.

Do you regard yourself as having a preference for polite society in any particular part of the world?

Perhaps you prefer the incivility of journalese.

Even so, you may be wondering why journalists in Australia have a preference for contradictory idioms.

Why, for example do Australian journalists so frequently describe apparently safe Liberal seats in parliaments as 'blue-ribbon' while failing to call apparently safe Labor seats as 'red-ribbon'?

Are such journalists aware that they are perpetrating propaganda through such language choices? 

Propaganda is never polite.

What do you know about cultural practices associated with red ribbons and blue ribbons in various societies?

How do you usually assess preferences in terms of politeness, in various contexts?

Perhaps you prefer to think about, and express, politeness in terms of pathos.