Bad Manners

Editorial

In the questioning of Dr. Rice to become Secretary of State, Senator Boxer referred to her as a liar. Miss Rice should have asked for an apology and refused to answer further questions until an apology was given. The chairman of the Senate committee examining Miss Rice should have insisted on an apology. None was demanded and none was given, to our shame. Bad manners are common. President Bush is referred to as a liar by vulgar political opponents in the United States and by vulgar politicians in Europe. Senator Kennedy has colored his time in politics by calling liars any who disagree with him. His constituents should oust him from political office.

The loss of good manners results from a loss of common values, and to say that the United States is linked by a common set of beliefs is not to be aware of the present chaos. We were once a Christian nation, but that is under attack. To be a Christian means that our life has been turned around so that we become a righteous, holy people. Such simplicity is rare. The loss of good manners reflects decadence.

Harry Reid remarked on the rhetorical skill of President Reagan after the State of the Union Address, by President Bush. He said that President Reagan was such a good communicator you could not help but listen. On the other hand, he said, President Bush is so dull, listening to him is work. President Bush is not a good speaker. I suspect he is tone deaf, as his vocal repertoire is limited to about two notes and lacks exciting timbre. He does not vary his speed. His pauses are drags against continuity. His inflections are without consistency and do not contribute to understanding. On the other hand, what he says is clear and important. Good manners requires understanding and intelligence rather than dismissal with contempt. Senator Reid’s comments were mean.

Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said ,

I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for, but I admire their discipline and their organization.

I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for.  Not “I oppose the Republicans and everything they stand for.” Not, “I’m determined to beat the Republicans.” Not “I reject the Republican message.”

No—Dean wants it understood that he hates the Republicans and all their works. That is the banner under which he marched as a candidate to lead his party.

Howard Dean is more than without manners; he has rejected civilized discourse.

Old Europe has been criticizing the United States ever since we saved it from Fascism and Communism and rebuilt their countries from chaos and poverty. Everything we have done in Iraq has annoyed them, in part, I suppose, because they were part of the corruption sponsored by Saddam Hussein, and because of jealousy that we were able to do something which they could not do. They long for the power they had in times that are no more.

Our success in Iraq is so obvious, and the potential for spreading civilized behavior so increased, and the desire of Arab and Islamic countries to have some of the freedoms of the Western countries, and some increase of wealth, that a new tone may be found in Europe. They have to show better behavior to prevent themselves from being despised. When the Secretary of State, a female, came to them, they found a rebirth of civility. They pride themselves on their culture. Her visit was an opportunity to illustrate what they boast. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and President Jacques Chirac are old enough to remember when the two sexes were referred to not as men and women but ladies and gentlemen.

Lack of manners results from a desire to win—at all costs. There is nothing wrong with winning. The curse is when we forget rules of decency. Athletes compete within the rules or are punished. So should we be punished.

Politicians want to win, and they ignore good manners in doing so. To be famous, to be cited in the news, to be part of the group that exercises power—that is the goal. There are some politicians with sound morals, but their behavior makes no national news and they are easy targets; and the good are treated with contempt by those with no morals, or a pretence of morals. To win at all cost is a disease not limited to politicians. The same behavior is common in all walks of life.

Vanity, which has become a substitute for good manners, replaces cooperation in the search for truth. When scholarship was the goal of education, learning was an exercise in humility. One confessed ignorance and sought understanding. Dogmatism was out as one expanded one’s categories. My professors at Columbia graduate school never taught from books they had written because that would be arrogant. They taught only what others had written. Ernest Moody was the exception. He was a world authority on fourteenth century logic, in which I was interested, and not much was written in that field. He could be forgiven. I recall a recent graduate who returned to our department for a visit and introduced himself as Doctor. Professor Gutmann remarked, “If I had known he would have behaved like that he would never have gotten his degree.” I was a student at Columbia many years ago and do not know if the manners that were present in my day are still practiced. I notice in photos of professors in the annual yearbook that some teachers are not well dressed.

The lack of good manners along with the growth of vanity and the passion to win at all cost indicates a debased commitment to power. The lust for power has been the cause of individual suffering and war for as long as known history. Individuals and states fight and kill each other for the glory that accompanies conquest. Nothing is more evil. Remember when you are ill-mannered that you are guilty of the behavior that has cursed mankind.     *

“The public cannot be too curious concerning the characters of public men.” –Samuel Adams

* The quotes following each article have been discovered by The Federalist Patriot, which can be reached at: http://FederalistPatriot.US/services.asp.