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Common courtesy: in which Miss Manners solves the problem that baffled Mr. Jefferson

Book by Judith Martin · 3 quotes · Manners, People, Believe

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Common courtesy: in which Miss Manners solves the problem that baffled Mr. Jefferson Quotes

“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.”

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Book:Common courtesy: in which Miss Manners solves the problem that baffled Mr. Jefferson
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“One reason that the task of inventing manners is so difficult is that etiquette is folk custom, and people have emotional ties to the forms of their youth. That is why there is such hostility between generations in times of rapid change; their manners being different, each feels affronted by the other, taking even the most surface choices for challenges.”

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Book:Common courtesy: in which Miss Manners solves the problem that baffled Mr. Jefferson
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“The rationale that etiquette should be eschewed because it fosters inequality does not ring true in a society that openly admits to a feverish interest in the comparative status-conveying qualities of sneakers. Manners are available to all, for free.”

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Book:Common courtesy: in which Miss Manners solves the problem that baffled Mr. Jefferson
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