Being Good

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people. If said people don’t meet those undefined standards of good breeding, then their etiquette is at fault. The other part of the definition describes etiquette as being prescribed by authority. There are times when a set of rules are laid out for a specific occasion. When this is not defined, one must decide what action or set of actions is appropriate. It reminds me of the saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Yet if I were to go to Rome, I’ll still be American, and would have to decide if being in Rome is worth acting like a Roman. Emily Post (whom I will discuss) said “Etiquette is common sense - a code of behavior based on thoughtfulness.” (Hatfield, 61) It’s all very confusing, but there is only one way to look at the whole picture. Etiquette can only be defined in terms of oneself; though rules are available, they are seldom known, and it is a personal decision and preference often depending on one’s situation.
Back in old times of Kings and Queens ruling the ...

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appropriate manners, not meaningless ritual. (Hatfield, 61)” Having read from front to back the Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette, such a claim seems a far stretch.
Etiquette, whether forced, implied or otherwise, always changes depending upon one’s situation. For social situations, there are rules which may be followed, but don’t always pertain. “ Rules for behavior in these situations are not imposed by social leaders, but created by people whose circumstances made them confined and forced to extend the bounds of social behavior” (Dunnan). When people are being “entertained” it is said that that implies food (Miller, 21). And food, in turn, implies that there must be two ...

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