One of the  best books I’ve ever read!

By Stephen L. Carter  ~ Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy, 1998.

Quoting Carter,  “Civility is the sum of the many sacrifices we are called to make for the sake of living together.”

OK – coming home tonight,  a car was so close, (how close was it,  you ask?), so close that the driver was almost in my passenger seat, trying to pull in front of me, effectively cutting me off. 

I was civil  in that I only held the horn down for a three count!

Didn’t anyone teach  her to be a courteous and a cautious driver?

Opening a door  the other day, entering an office building, a woman w/a phone plastered to her ear, and a mouth moving a million miles a minute, walked toward me and squeezed right through the opening between me and the door jamb, then kept on walking – never saying thanks.

I was civil  in that I only yelled out once – say thanks girlie!  I think it was the “girlie” that got her attention.

These people  were adults, so who didn’t teach them manners as children? 

New Yorkers  interrupt each other regularly – without a moment’s hesitation.  It’s like that Canadian “eh?” thing – “So – we’ll go to the Mall right after work- eh?” 

New Yorkers  will help you finish your sentence, so they can move along to better things – what they want to talk about. 

The civil part  of that, is they will listen to everything you say expecting that you will do the same.   And to maintain civility – I suggest you do.

Where were  the parents, the family, the teachers, the clergy when these uncivil people were growing up?

Out here  in the Midwest, civility means saying yes ma’am and no sir, while all along they are thinking that you’re an airhead.

Being civil  is not telling them that that thought is written in neon flashing letters across their forehead.

Didn’t anyone  punish these people, point out to them when they were rude, offensive, or disrespectful ?  (Not “diss” – that’s a fightin’ word.) 

They were  probably trying to be civil by not giving them a head-smack every ten seconds. 

That’s why I LOVE NCIS  that Gibbs/Harmon fella’.   That’s someone I could roll over and be real civil to.