About Manners
Post 110:
Manners are big deal in life. A million decisions and outcomes spring forth from the manners of parties on any side of any deal or arrangement. In an age of texting and perfunctory emails, the message is the wheat while often manners are thought mere chaff.
It’s not that a little gilding of the lily is necessary. It’s just that when you look back on what it took people to make the world civilized, I don’t know, act civilized.
This isn’t my strongest suit, by the way. I’m not doing a fake self-effacing bit here—truly, I can be seriously defunct in the cordiality department at times. Work in progress and all that.
If you go on to my Twitter account I have a little bio like all the other dorks on Twitter; I say here’s my book and my blog, yada yada, and then I say a little thing about manners. What I say is that I believe in them.
What’s the difference between believing and having, exactly? Sounds like a stupid question, and maybe you’re next-level and don’t need to throw your line in, but go with me if you will. Believing means having a standard. Like people that believe in God and all His Tenants. They believe, but that doesn’t mean they always live up to mark. The mark is impossible. Perfection before the Almighty ain’t happening. Being a gentleman or a nice person at all times ain’t happening either. But the desire is there. The religious pray for forgiveness when they fall short. I feel like balls when I realize I was being a schmuck to whoever it was, whenever it was.
There’s a reason for manners. What’s the reason? It’s not something we learned from evolution. Does it make any evolutionary sense to be the nice dude while all the surly tools get to breed with all the hot ladies? None, whatsoever. It’s a wonder manners haven’t died out completely, if we think about it from a purely genetic standpoint.
Let’s get some scientists on this. In fact, let’s get the meanest, biggest asshole scientist to study why some people are nice and why it’s even moderately sustainable to be that way.
We’re spit-balling here. And I’ll keep it to that. It’d be bad form to indulge your patience further. Eh… see how this works? Manners maketh the man. See you after.
