Listen now (13 min) | If you enjoyed this excerpt, please consider pre ordering the book! https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250277787/the-soul-of-civility
This resonates with me. I spent 30 years in the Army. The politics and ruthlessness increased as I moved up in rank. I resolved to make the part of the world I had control over was the way I hoped the rest of the world to be. This included setting the example of respect and civility.
These words are so much needed. Our society at large seems to have lost all sense of dignity, let alone compassion, honesty and honor. Growing up my mother would say, “some people just don’t know the niceties of life”. At the time it seemed like a trivial comment but I think it was prophetic. Congratulations on your accomplishments...I’m very interested in an advance copy.
As society "advances" in its pursuit of technology and efficiency, it begins to lose its humanity and civility because time is seen as disposable and niceties are no longer needed to achieve instant results. Personal interaction, whether in a professional or domestic setting, is based on the need to achieve, not the process on how to do it properly. Personal decorum and manners, once viewed as part of proper social etiquette, become dispensable and viewed as a weakness rather than a means to achieve a desirable end result. People viewed as "nice" are deemed weak or easily manipulated by those whose sole objective is winning at all costs. The people "used" along the way are casualties strewn by the victors because no one remember those that came in 2nd or lost the competition. Competing in an honorable way or showing compassion for others has been replaced by indifference and self-absorption for accomplishment. Writing for pleasure or as a means of basic human interactive communication has become a lost art. Hopefully Alexandra's book finds its way into those hands that still believe in making society and the world a better place where rules and social norms still exist for the benefit of mankind, not the self-proclaimed majority. I look forward to seeing and reading the remainder of this treatise as a guiding light coming back to civility. :)
Alexandra, this excerpt is really enlightening and on target. I am looking forward to reading the entire book. What you described in this is also present in the medical profession where some have forgotten that they’re is a large imbalance between patient and physician that can be overcome only by the consideration of recognizing the human dignity of then one who suffers (this sin the actual meaning of the word patient). Thank you for this work
Looking forward to the book.
This resonates with me. I spent 30 years in the Army. The politics and ruthlessness increased as I moved up in rank. I resolved to make the part of the world I had control over was the way I hoped the rest of the world to be. This included setting the example of respect and civility.
These words are so much needed. Our society at large seems to have lost all sense of dignity, let alone compassion, honesty and honor. Growing up my mother would say, “some people just don’t know the niceties of life”. At the time it seemed like a trivial comment but I think it was prophetic. Congratulations on your accomplishments...I’m very interested in an advance copy.
As society "advances" in its pursuit of technology and efficiency, it begins to lose its humanity and civility because time is seen as disposable and niceties are no longer needed to achieve instant results. Personal interaction, whether in a professional or domestic setting, is based on the need to achieve, not the process on how to do it properly. Personal decorum and manners, once viewed as part of proper social etiquette, become dispensable and viewed as a weakness rather than a means to achieve a desirable end result. People viewed as "nice" are deemed weak or easily manipulated by those whose sole objective is winning at all costs. The people "used" along the way are casualties strewn by the victors because no one remember those that came in 2nd or lost the competition. Competing in an honorable way or showing compassion for others has been replaced by indifference and self-absorption for accomplishment. Writing for pleasure or as a means of basic human interactive communication has become a lost art. Hopefully Alexandra's book finds its way into those hands that still believe in making society and the world a better place where rules and social norms still exist for the benefit of mankind, not the self-proclaimed majority. I look forward to seeing and reading the remainder of this treatise as a guiding light coming back to civility. :)
Alexandra, this excerpt is really enlightening and on target. I am looking forward to reading the entire book. What you described in this is also present in the medical profession where some have forgotten that they’re is a large imbalance between patient and physician that can be overcome only by the consideration of recognizing the human dignity of then one who suffers (this sin the actual meaning of the word patient). Thank you for this work