generalspeaking

Mere Civility

It's called deferential respect. Respect for heritage, for custom, for tradition. For when in Rome - or Japan, as the case may be - do as they do. In Japan the Emperor is a sainted figure, only relatively recently divested of his stature as a living god. Yet, even as a mortal he is owed respect as the imperial head of state of his notable country. And then, too there is the undisputed fact of age differential. Youth deferring to age. You know, that quaint old custom that used to be universally recognized?

Long since, in America, gone the way of the Dodo, alas. America, where the concept of equality has been taken a tad too far. So that strangers feel free to approach strangers and speak familiarly, on a first-name basis. The socially crude fashion of children or young adults speaking on a first-name basis to grandparently figures, or to celebrity figures or those in the professions - and vice versa, has taken discourtesy to a new low, and lamentally accepted level.

This is not to be seen as discourtesy, we are loftily informed, but as a levelling of society. We are all perceived to be equal in status, in value, in individuality. Yet if, feeling insulted at the uninvited familiarity and accustomed to a modicum of civil respect with the calming distance of last name and appropriate title one demurs, that is taken as an insult. A simple matter of simple respect and social etiquette disdained and perverted. We may all have been created equal, but there is still a social distance required as a simple matter of courtesy, before an invitation is extended to become familiar.

So all of that fuss about whether or not President Obama was right or wrong to have been lavishly courteous to Emperor Akihito could only take place in the United States with its perverted and absurd 'equalization' of social contact through first-name acknowledgement in common usage. The disparity in their height would serve to emphasize the extent to which President Obama politely deferred to the Emperor. The occasion, the ceremony, the comparative ages of the two men, lent itself well indeed to Mr. Obama's gracious acknowledgement.

It is, actually, from a social perspective, diplomatically gratifying to see this American man, the President of the United States, performing this courtesy, given the circumstances. He has not humbled himself; he has nicely and courteously greeted a respected elder and in the process given recognition to another culture's traditions.

Labels: Social-Cultural Deviations, United States

posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, November 18, 2009