The Way One Was Brought Up Isn't

Perhaps The Greatest Rudenesses Of Our Time Come Not From The Callousness Of Strangers, But From The Solicitousness Of Intimates Who Believe That Their Frank Criticisms Are Always Welcome, And Who Feel Free To "be Themselves" With Those They Love, Which Turns Out To Mean Being Their Worst Selves, While Saving Their Best Behavior For Strangers.

The Pejorative Term "political Correctness" Was Adapted To Express Disapproval Of The Enlargement Of Etiquette To Cover All People, In Spite Of This Being A Principle To Which All Americans Claim To Subscribe.

The Idea That People Can Behave Naturally, Without Resorting To An Artificial Code Tacitly Agreed Upon By Their Society, Is As Silly As The Idea That They Can Communicate By A Spoken Language Without Commonly Accepted Semantic And Grammatical Rules.

We Are All Born Rude. No Infant Has Ever Appeared Yet With The Grace To Understand How Inconsiderate It Is To Disturb Others In The Middle Of The Night.

When People Start Hurling Insults At You, You Know Their Minds Are Closed And There's No Point In Debating. You Disengage Yourself As Quickly As Possible From The Situation.