Civility Today

You may compare the sensory experience of taste with the social and aesthetic experience of tastes . But how do you think about tastefulness in terms of ethics? How do you prefer to seek out flavours , and why? Perhaps you are an enthusiast for dégustation . Perhaps you are a gourmand and/or a glutton . Perhaps you enjoy wine tasting and/or tea tasting . Perhaps you regard yourself as a connoisseur of something, or even many things and experiences. What do you know about the science of sensory analysis ? What do you know about psychophysics ? How do you define good taste if not in relation to civility?

What is your acquaintance with discernment in relation to civility?

How is your knowledge of poverty informed? What do you know about inclusive wealth as a way to address poverty?  

What do you know about the islands of Australia ? What do you know about the islands of the United Kingdom ? What do you know about the islands of France ? What do you know about the islands of China ? What do you know about the islands of New Zealand ? What do you know about the islands of the United States ? What do you know about the islands of Indonesia ?

 What have been your experiences of interviews and interviewing?

A year ago, the theme of the day within this publication related to standards .  Civility Today has been designed and constructed to help maintain high standards in various contexts, including in the construction industry. Building a daily digital news service does not necessarily have much in common with building a house or road or school or hospital or multi-level car park or sports stadium or museum or bridge or rail route or airport or shopping centre or port or marina or mine or military base. Yet physical infrastructure does not necessarily serve a worthwhile purpose, especially if it is poorly designed or poorly maintained or poorly placed or likely to produce a poor return on investment from the point of view of the funders. Standards tend to be low when a quick return on investment is demanded or required. Construction is meant to be a long-term investment for the greater good. But what happens in practice? What do you know about speculative property development? What do you

What have you discovered about taxation over your lifetime, and how? What, if anything, are you seeking to learn about taxation, and from whom? A year ago, the subject of Civility Today was ' constitution '. What do you know about constitutional matters relating to taxation, wherever and whenever you pay direct and/or indirect taxes? What do you know about tax evasion and tax avoidance ? What do you know about wasteful public spending, including wasteful approaches to collecting taxes?

A year ago today, the topic of Civility Today was ' landslide '.  What do you know about patience and impatience in relation to that topic? What do you know about patience and impatience more generally in relation to politics and the environment? You may associate patience with confidence. You may associate impatience with frustration, and even with incivility. How do you assess the limits of your own patience in various situations, and how do you respond once the limits are reached?

You have now had the opportunity to read this first level of Civility Today for an entire year , whether you are an Australian citizen, a person in Australia, or former visitor to Australia, a person with at least one family member and/or friend in Australia, someone researching Australia, or as someone with no connection to Australia whatsoever. If you want this daily news service to continue for another year, whether with a focus on Australia or another type of focus, what are you willing to offer towards that continuation?

If you have had any complaints about Civility Today , since its beginnings a year ago, to whom did you address those complaints, and in what manner?

There are many shades of purple and many shades of violet . There are also many types of violence. Were you born in the purple ? Whether you were or not, perhaps you enjoy writing purple prose , or not as the case may be. How do you usually think about colour? What do you know about it in psychological terms?  Perhaps you cannot see colours .  Perhaps you cannot see. The reporting for Civility Today is reflective of violet and violets, not violence, as you may have noticed.   Violet flowers are of the viola genus of flowering plants.  What do you know about non-violent communication ? Do you attempt to express your reporting in a non-violent way, regardless of the purpose of your reports? Are you sure you consistently avoid using fighting words , even on twitter ? Perhaps you have attempted to improve the prose of journalists , without success. You may associate the word viola with a musical instrument .   You may reasonably associate violet as a colour with purple . What do you k

Civility is associated with perceptions . Perceptions are associated with senses and the sensory and s ensitivity . What do you know about word sense and common sense ? What do you know about the sensible and the sensual? What do you know about sensation and sensationalism ? What do you know about sensors , censure , censers , censorship and a census ? What do you know about senses in relation to disability ? What do you know about sensory processing sensitivities and sensory processing disorders ? What do you know about sense perception in relation to experiences of community ? How are you investing in a sense of belonging , and for whom, and where in the world , and why? What do you know about your senses in relation to honesty and certainty ?

You may associate introductions with beginnings. You may prefer formal introductions or informal introductions. You may prefer gentle introductions or adventurous ones. You may associate introductions with first impressions . Introductions may be structures or unstructured. They may be expected or unexpected. They may be the result of much preparation or no preparation at all. They may be wanted or unwanted. What do you know about introduced species ? You may associate introductions with a debut . Perhaps you know something about the experiences of debutantes . You may associate introductions with inventions .  You may associate introductions with premi è res . You may associate introductions with previews . You may associate introductions with the title sequences of films and television shows. You may associate introductions with brief biographies and entries in dictionaries, directories and encyclopaedias. You may associate introductions with entrances, possibly including grand entr

Do you think technology can help people to express civility better? Perhaps you believe there is more civility expressed without technology. What is technology ?  Perhaps you regard civility as a technique . What do you know about ethics in relation to technology ? If you are carefully investing in civility , how have you considered technologies in that regard? What do you know about profiling technologies ? What do you know about management in relation to civility and technology? Perhaps you have skills as a technician of some sort. Whether you are a technician or not, how do you express civility in relation to technologically-mediated and technology-related experiences?

Who pays for your lifestyle , and why? How much do you associate your lifestyle with money ?  How much do you associate your lifestyle with civility? How much do you associate your lifestyle with your associates? How much do you associate your lifestyle with style rather than life? How stylish are you considered to be, and by whom?  What, if anything, does your lifestyle nurture ? How stylishly and reasonably are you investing in life itself? How, if at all, is your lifestyle associated with science ? What do you know about lifestyles in relation to disability , and how did you acquire that information? How much of your lifestyle is public and how much of it is private?  When has your lifestyle involved investing in the harmonious interplay of beauty, understanding and magnificence ?

Although Civility Today has been publicly available for less than a year, this philanthropically-provided, not-for-profit publication already has an authentically admirable reputation as an advanced example of quality, daily news reporting. Providing this exceedingly important contribution towards the widespread improvement of cultural practices has obviously required the services of many reputable contributors.  Perhaps you are already one of those contributors. As all contributors to Civility Today are carefully assessed beforehand as sufficiently reputable, the production and publication of the daily news reports provides those contributors with an immensely satisfying way to address societal ills. Do you already have a considerable reputation for investing in civility appropriately? Do you have a considerable reputation for investing in suitably clear boundaries ? Do you have a considerable reputation for investing in trustworthy collaborations ? Do you have a considerable re

Civility Today is a daily news service. You are currently experiencing the public level of the service. If you are seeking to experience a higher level of news analysis through this service, please be aware that the associated subscription fees are likely to be substantial.  What is your preferred approach to investing in enlightened productivity on a daily basis? The subscription service is not available through libraries.  It is not available to the public in any way whatsoever.  Nor is it available privately other than through provisions on an individual basis.  There are no institutional subscriptions available. If you are an enlightened world leader, the necessary, daily examination of news-related analysis is likely to be part of your daily routine, in much the same way as necessary hygiene . What is your usually approach to the distribution of important information? How do you assess importance on a daily basis? What do you believe to be your most important tasks on a dail

How do you usually assess civility in relation to performance, and performances? How do you usually distribute your knowledge of enlightening discussions, practices and performances? Where and how do you usually attempt to find the truth about people and their performance, and for what purpose? How do you attempt to assess the performance of tools and technologies? What is your acquaintance with practices intended to improve performances ?  Perhaps you associate performance mainly with the performing arts and/or performance art . Or maybe you associate performance with jobs in various contexts. Perhaps you have mainly had negative experiences of the appraisal of your performances . Perhaps critics have negatively assessed your work more often than not. You may or may not have many followers and/or fans of your performances. Whose performances do you most value in various circumstances, and why?

How do you know when a situation is getting better? How do you know when an improvement is sustainable? What does betterment really mean in practice? Perhaps you have been belittled by people who do not share your beliefs about betterment. What does value mean in practice, and to whom? How have you attempted to better yourself, if at all? How do you assess the value of claimed home improvements ? How do you assess the benefits of real estate betterment , and for whom?  How do you assess the costs of externalities , and for whom? How do you attempt to improve civility for the betterment of society?

What does the word briefing imply to you, and why? Perhaps you associate it with simple summaries of situations. Perhaps you associate it with press conferences . Perhaps you associate it with debriefings . Perhaps you associate briefings with policy analysis and/or decision-making . While a briefing is usually regarded as verbal, it has much the same as a written fact sheet , at least if it is adequately factual and adequately brief. Yet verbal communication is rarely adequately factual or adequately brief. And press briefings are rarely adequately polite, on both sides of the briefing process. Perhaps you wish to supply the virtual journalists at Civility Today with a concise overview of how you are investing in civility , and where you are doing so, and why you are doing so, and how effectively you have been doing so, and for how long. Perhaps you wish to supply a technical brief. What have been your experiences of technical writing , both as a supplier and as a recipient? What

Do you think Twaklin would be more suitably acknowledged as an enlightened world leader if Her Illustrious Highness had a physical existence rather than only a digital, conceptual and spiritual one? Do you think Twaklin would be more suitably acknowledged as an enlightened world leader if she had a different name? Do you think Twaklin would be more suitably acknowledged as an enlightened world leader if she had a different gender? Do you think Twaklin would be more suitably acknowledged as an enlightened world leader if she had a different, apparent ethnicity? What do you not yet understand about Twaklin , and why? How do you know you have been suitably investing in enlightened beings over several thousand years? Perhaps such questions do not fit comfortably into your current belief system. What are your prejudices in relation to names? Perhaps you have difficulty practicing civility when encountering names and titles you do not know how to pronounce. How do you usually interact wit

Who is willing to hear a quiet voice of reasonableness, truth , goodness and possibly even beauty?  Who is willing to read the words of the person associated with that voice? Who ignores the humanity of that person, and why? How do you define the beautiful, and why? How do you tell the difference between a suitably beautiful celebration of peaceful living and a vulgar extravagance?  What, if anything, do you appreciate about beauty? You may associate appreciation with a deepening of understanding of aesthetically pleasurable experiences. You may associate beauty with tastefulness. You may associate beauty with fashion. You may associate beauty with art. You may associate beauty with health. You may associate beauty with perfection. You may associate beauty with attraction. Do you ever associate beauty with civility? True civility is immensely elegant .  It is a beautifully shining example of enlightened self expression. Perhaps you prefer to equate the beautiful with the pretty, the c

Apparently perfect images are expressions of art, not life. And behind the scene of apparently perfect images, there is often much messiness and ugliness and unhealthiness. Have you ever been in an art studio, or photographic studio, or on a film set, or in a television studio, or in the editorial office of a magazine or newspaper, or in a newsroom, or behind the scenes of a stage production? When do you know a reasonable desire for improvement has become an unreasonable desire for perfection? How do you know when an expectation of perfection is reasonable? How carefully do you ascertain mutual expectations in various situations? How reasonably do you judge people and expectations and intentions and motivations and problems? You may associate perfection with an absence of problems. Perhaps you only ever express appreciation towards something or someone you regard as perfect. How have you expressed appreciation towards Civility Today , if at all? Perfection is an absence of flaws.

How do you tell when optimism is reasonable? Perhaps you regard optimism as never reasonable. When have you been overly optimistic, and what have been the results? Perhaps you associate unwarranted optimism with gullibility. You may possibly associate optimism with excessively risky behaviours. When, if ever, have you experienced tragic optimism ? When, if ever, have you experienced toxic positivity?  What do you know about psychological manipulation? Excessive optimism and excessive positivity are associated with the selfish expression of positive affectivity .  They may possibly even be associated with superficial charm. What is your acquaintance with positive psychology ? What do you know about civility and hygiene in terms of reason and reasons? How much value do you place on reasonableness?  What value do you place on your reasonableness? What value do you place on your emotions? How do you assess dangers, and respond to them? Optimism is an attitude associated with pleasant

How do you usually think about needs in terms of normality? All over the purportedly free world, bullies claim the right to express vile opinions while ignoring essential facts. One of those essential facts is that vile actions and opinions cause psychological trauma not only in the people towards whom vileness is directed but in anyone vicariously affected. Of course, the people who consider vileness to be normal and/or entertaining will fail to make a quality analysis of anything.  Such people are evil.   How do you usually think about rights in terms of normality?    How do you attempt to convince people that cruelty is NOT normal ?

You currently have the opportunity to explore ideas about civility in relation to necessity, through Civility Today . You may already have had the opportunity to do so through various libraries , and possibly even through various governments. What do you currently know about opportunities in relation to necessities, and how did you acquire that information? When has any government provided you with the opportunity to understand necessity and civility better, in practice as well as in theory? Perhaps you mainly associate opportunities with economics . Perhaps you mainly associate opportunities with the law . Perhaps you mainly associate opportunities with expectations . What do you know about needs in relation to expectations?

How do you assess necessity in terms of moderation ? Civility is obviously necessary, yet how can the uncivil, the unnecessary and the immoderate be fairly and effectively addressed? How, if at all, is it possible to moderate the effects of stupidity? How, if at all, is it possible to moderate the effects of selfishness? What are your aspirations, hopes and ambitions, and why, and how do you know they are not excessive? What do you own, and how do you know?  How do you know your attitude towards simplicity is suitably moderate? You may regard selfishness as a type of stupidity.  It is usually indicated by a failure to distinguish appropriately between necessary dependence, necessary independence and necessary interdependence. There is much evil in the world.  It is mainly associated with stupidity, including the stupidity of intelligent yet arrogant individuals. There are stupid cultures and non-stupid cultures. How do you tell the difference between the two?  How do you know your

Some types of research, whether scientific or otherwise, receive substantial public and/or private funding, especially when that research can be used to boost the egos of selfish male persons. Meanwhile, more necessary research does not receive much funding at all, if any. Little social research has been conducted, or funded, to investigate why that is the case, probably due to the fact that no-one with access to money is willing to fund it. Such research is likely to be expensive, primarily due to the fact that selfishness is very difficult to prevent and apparently impossible to eradicate, in much the same way as stupidity. Thoughtful discussions are not necessarily pleasant.  They are simply necessary.  They principally aim to enhance mutual understanding if not mutual respect and the advancement of shared principles. Perhaps you do not believe it is necessary to gain a scientific understanding of selfishness and stupidity. Perhaps you do not believe it is even necessary to g

How do you nurture anything if you are feeling overwhelmed and in need of a restful few hours, days or weeks? To nurture requires time .  In fact, it may require time every day, in much the same way as providing a daily news service, such as this one. But is a daily news service necessary, in your view? If so, what sort of daily news service do you require, and why? And what sort of daily news service do you provide, and why? Have you ever been treated by anyone as though your personal life and right to privacy are self-indulgent luxuries rather than necessities? Do you usually regard necessities as rights ?  Perhaps you sometimes regard luxuries as therapeutic and therefore temporarily necessary. Perhaps you think answering questions is mostly to be negotiated on a fee-to-know basis rather than a need-to-know basis. Or perhaps you have you been campaigning to prevent rudeness appropriately. Is rudeness sometimes necessary, in your view? You may think the market economy is a rude

If you have been supporting Civility Today in a financial way , perhaps you have regarded that support as a form of donation. But what is a donation , and what is donating? What is merely a process of discarding surplus or unwanted items? What do you know about money in terms of need? You have been invited to provide appropriate comments on the items within Civility Today .  You have not been invited to provide anything else except gratitude for the welcome you have been provided here. How do you usually attempt to express gratitude ? How have you already expressed appreciation of this daily publication? How do you wish to express your appreciation now ?  How have you already encouraged other people to show appreciation of this public interest news service? You may be interested in expressing your future patronage as a subscriber and/or philanthropist and/or volunteer. Since the beginnings of Civility Today , almost a year ago, the commentary opportunities here, below each daily it

What do you know about civility and incivility in relation to social parties, political parties and illegal parties? How do you usually attempt to prevent strange, and potentially dangerous, interpersonal encounters from happening? How do you usually attempt to prevent strange electoral outcomes ? Landslide electoral wins have mainly resulted when one political leader has become overwhelmingly more popular than another, regardless of policy platforms . The popularity of the winner often arises not from personal abilities and qualities but from the perceived corruption and/or incompetence of the losing side. But what happens when there are no particularly popular political leaders? How do political leaders gain and maintain popularity if not through the mass media and/or social media? Gaining a high public profile before a winning an election is no guarantee of political competence, or enduring popularity. Political competence requires economic competence, adequate civility and extr