It Is One Of Miss Manners's Great

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.

Part Of The Skill Of Saying No Is To Shut Up Afterward And Not Babble On, Offering Material For An Argument.

If It's Against State Law, It's Generally Considered A Breach Of Etiquette.

One Should Not Be Assigned One's Identity In Society By The Job Slot One Happens To Fill. If We Truly Believe In The Dignity Of Labor, Any Task Can Be Performed With Equal Pride Because None Can Demean The Basic Dignity Of A Human Being.

Perhaps The Greatest Rudenesses Of Our Time Come Not From The Callousness Of Strangers, But From The Solicitousness Of Intimates Who Believe That Their Frank Criticisms Are Always Welcome, And Who Feel Free To "be Themselves" With Those They Love, Which Turns Out To Mean Being Their Worst Selves, While Saving Their Best Behavior For Strangers.