Spending the morning reading weekend and Sunday newspapers like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, I find this to be the most interesting and useful article so far:"Good Manners for Nice People"
It's a terrific piece, with an emphasis on how technology has truly changed how we treat each other, even if basic human behavior (or misbehavior) is still behind all rudeness. As Ms. Alkon writes in her book:
the essence of manners is empathy. "The missing link in our understanding of conflict is our failure to realize how vulnerable humans are to being treated as if they didn't matter."
Her biting passages are no less insightful because they border on the hysterical: "If you're going to invite someone to dinner and ignore them, at least have the decency to get married and build up years of bitterness and resentment."
Moira Hogson's review definitely makes me want to read this book!
Also related to manners is this article, with lots to say about our misuse of cellphones in public places. I don't agree with everything Mr. Lazebnik writes, but most of the time he's right on target:
"Keep Your Cellphone Out Of My Starbucks"
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