A101 Team Burned out from the endless partisan rancor? Tired of watching the shouting on cable news? At National Review Online, Kathryn Jean Lopez suggests we battle some of that angst by reading something timeless – the rules of civility that our first president composed when he was a young man.
As a teenage boy, Washington wrote down “The Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.” Consider a few: “Every action done in company ought to be done with some sigh of respect to those that are present.” Maybe we could follow this guideline when we interact with people on social media, in commercial transactions, or in and around Senate confirmation hearings.
Here are some others:
- Let your countenance be pleasant but in serious matters somewhat grave.
- Shew not yourself at the misfortune of another though he were your enemy.
- Do not laugh too loud at any public spectacle.
- Always submit your judgment to others with modesty.
- Do not express joy before one sick in pain, for that contrary passion will aggravate his misery.
In another, there’s a caution against being sharp and biting humor. That alone could shut down Twitter as we know it.
- Use no reproachable language against ant one, neither curse nor revile.
- Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the disparagement of any.
- Speak not injurious words neither in jest nor earnest; scoff at none although they give occasion.
Read more of our first president’s rules of civility at National Review Online.
