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When a society abandons its ideals just because most people can't live up to them, behavior gets very ugly indeed.

Judith Martin

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Judith Martin
Age: 86
Born: 1938
Born: September 13
Economist
Journalist
Washington
District of Columbia
Indeed
Behavior
Gets
Society
Live
Abandons
People
Abandon
Ideals
Ugly

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Meanwhile, the empty forms of social behavior survive inappropriately in business situations. We all know that when a business sends its customers 'friendly reminders,' it really means business.
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What restricts the use of the word 'lady' among the courteous is that it is intended to set a woman apart from ordinary humanity, and in the working world that is not a help, as women have discovered in many bitter ways.
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You should resolve not to seek public approval of your private business, when you are not also prepared to accept public disapproval.
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It is wrong to wear diamonds before luncheon, except on one’s marriage rings. Before, after, and during breakfast, luncheon and dinner, it is vulgar to wear a mixture of colored precious stones. It is always a comfort to know that so many things one can’t afford to do anyway are vulgar.
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A lot of men got upset at the feminist movement because they had all the toys and we wanted some.
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A general rule of etiquette is that one apologizes for the unfortunate occurrence, but the unthinkable is unmentionable.
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The dinner table is the center for the teaching and practicing not just of table manners but of conversation, consideration, tolerance, family feeling, and just about all the other accomplishments of polite society except the minuet.
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What you have when everyone wears the same playclothes for all occasions, is addressed by nickname, expected to participate in Show And Tell, and bullied out of any desire form privacy, is not democracy it is kindergarten.
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Honesty has come to mean the privilege of insulting you to your face without expecting redress.
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The way one was brought up isn't an excuse for rude behavior.
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A wedding invitation is sent by people who have been saying, Do we have to ask them? to people whose first response is, How much do you think we have to spend on them?
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Generosity and gratitude are inseparably linked.
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Nowadays, you form your beliefs to fit your behavior, not the other way around.
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Nobody believes that the man who says, 'Look, lady, you wanted equality,' to explain why he won't give up his seat to a pregnant woman carrying three grocery bags, a briefcase, and a toddler is seized with the symbolism of idealism.
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It's far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help.
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You do not have to do everything disagreeable that you have a right to do
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The most conventional statements are both true and welcome.
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We are all entitled to our little harmless habits, but we are not entitled to demand approval for them.
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It is one of Miss Manners's great discoveries that one needn't contradict others in order to set them straight.
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Indeed, Miss Manners has come to believe that the basic political division in this country is not between liberals and conservatives but between those who believe that they should have a say in the love lives of strangers and those who do not.
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