Civility

 

Civility is the act of showing regard for others by being polite, like the civility you showed in speaking kindly to someone who has hurt your feelings. Civility comes from the Latin word Civilis, meaning "relating to public life, befitting a citizen," in other words, being friendly and nice to everyone.

Civics is the study of the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a society. It includes the study of civil law, civil code, and government, with a focus on the role of citizens in the government's operation and oversight.

Civics is often taught in K–12 schools as part of the social studies curriculum. It's typically based on political science and law, and is closely related to other academic subjects, especially U.S. history.

Decorum

Decorum is proper and polite behavior. If you let out a big belch at a fancy dinner party, you're not showing much decorum. This noun is from Latin decōrus "proper, becoming, handsome," from décor "beauty, grace," which is also the source of English décor

Politeness

Politeness is the practical application of good manners or etiquette so as not to offend others and to put them at ease. It is a culturally defined phenomenon, and therefore what is considered polite in one culture can sometimes be quite rude or simply eccentric in another cultural context.

While the goal of politeness is to refrain from behaving in an offensive way so as not to offend others, and to make all people feel relaxed and comfortable with one another, these culturally defined standards at times may be broken within the context of personal boundaries – this is known as positive politeness.

Respect

Treating someone with respect means: • showing regard for their abilities and worth • valuing their feelings and their views, even if you don't necessarily agree with them • accepting them on an equal basis and giving them the same consideration, you would expect for yourself. Respect begins with oneself.

I am of an age when the lights went down in the theatre people remained silent and still to watch the performance. If not, they were escorted out by an usher with a flashlight. Then the audience started to talk, throw things and move around destroying the experience for me. I don’t attend the grand halls for big screen entertainment due to the audience.

If there was a dispute with a retailer over a price or customer service, a quiet request was made to talk to the manager and come to a concordant without a discord disturbing other. I hear people start raising their voices and turn the other way to avoid anyone who feels privileged enough to be a Karen.

I see videos of people throwing things at fast food establishments for the minimal complaint or tourist creating a fuss enough to hauled away by the authorities or the highway cut off that turns into a shooting.

It seems, to these old eyes, that whatever was taught in school or church or home about civility is ancient history. I certainly don’t know all the ‘new’ cultural whims and ways or rules of the game, so I’ll just try and use the ‘Golden Rule’.

I know when it is late and people get all liquored up, people may react with uncommon violence to no meaning, but the reactions of those around is worrisome.