Happy President’s Day!
In honor of George Washington … I’m sharing two of our favorite rules from “What would George Say?” posts from previous years.
I’ve always been intrigued with the fact that George Washington, at the age of 16, penned 110 Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation. I’m not sure about you… but at age 16, I was more concerned with cute clothes, cars and boys. Yes, some of his “rules” seem quite funny in today’s fast-paced world, but others… well, they are still pretty spot-on!
For example, #18: Read no Letters, Books, or Papers in Company but when there is a Necessity for the doing of it you must ask leave: come not near the Books or Writings of Another so as to read them unless desired or give your opinion of them unasked also look not nigh when another is writing a Letter.
Take the same phrase and insert “technology device”, aka “cell phone”…wow. If only President Washington were around today, do you think his jaw might drop and his teeth would chatter at the lack of “Civility and Decent Behavior” we keep “in Company and Conversation”?
Or how about Rule #7: Put not off your Cloths in the presence of others, nor go out your Chamber half Dressed.
I hear so many mothers of young girls talking about shopping and how they try to find clothes that are “age-appropriate”. It seems as though the fashion industry, media and advertisers forget that little girls are still little girls and are encouraging them to come out of their ‘chambers half dressed’. I know what many parents are saying; and if he were alive today… I wonder, “What would George say?”
To read more about George Washington and his 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation, click here: http://www.foundationsmag.com/civility.html
