Speaking ethically No. 16
October 2007
by Rod Benson
“Manners maketh the man,” said William of Wykeham, and American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson reflected that “Good manners are made up of petty sacrifices.” But few aphorisms are less likely to appeal to the modern mind, says Lucinda Holdforth in her book, Why Manners Matter: The Case for Civilized Behaviour in a Barbarous World (Random House, 2007).
Why, then, write a book on manners? Holdforth, a Sydney-based speechwriter, is convinced that civility protects human rights and freedoms, saves us from over-legislation, strengthens community, and “adorns our individual humanity.” In short, manners are essential to civilization.
This is not a book that pines after 19th-century sensibilities, nor a manual on etiquette. It’s a perceptive commentary on how we live, a conversation on ideas, and a plea for neighbourly respect and common sense. The author argues that personal civility matters because (to grab a few of her key ideas):
• we are social animals who must cooperate to survive;
• manners are more important than laws, less invasive than morals, and better than social confusion;
• manners nurture equality, modify self-esteem, and express our civic values;
• sovereignty demands self-sovereignty;
• manners resolve the tension between order and freedom, liberty and stability;
• manners express authenticity, goodness and progress in human community;
• corporations are not civilizing institutions; and
• manners give us dignity, improve communication, prevent premature intimacy, reveal our humanity, and render life beautiful.
By our modest mannerly contributions, our little “petty sacrifices,” we combine to make something bigger and ultimately more significant – a civil society. And a civil society is an excellent environment in which Christians and Christian values may flourish.
Why Manners Matter is witty and timely, profound and practical, forceful and charming. As the publisher’s blurb notes, it “will ensure you never take courtesy for granted again.” I respectfully suggest you go out and get two copies: one for yourself and the other for someone you know who disdains manners – or who lives among people who do.
Rev Rod Benson is Director of the Centre for Christian Ethics at Morling College, Sydney.
Purchase Lucinda Holdforth, Why Manners Matter: The Case for Civilized Behaviour in a Barbarous World at http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Books/Default.aspx?Page=Book&ID=9781741668704
13 September 2007
Speaking ethically No. 15
September 2007
by Rod Benson
Last month, the Australian Federal Parliament passed legislation authorising the Howard Government’s unprecedented actions to arrest child abuse and neglect among indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.
These included measures for alcohol restriction; computer auditing to detect prohibited pornographic material; better management of community stores to deliver healthier and more affordable food; five-year leases on some communities to enable better management of investments and improved living conditions; land tenure changes for town camps; and removal of customary law as a relevant mitigating factor for bail and sentencing conditions.
This is an issue of immense significance to our nation, and to our churches and mission agencies working alongside indigenous Australians. There has been cautious support but also strong criticism from church leaders. Many have welcomed the government’s commitment to tackling violence and abuse in indigenous communities, but have expressed grave concerns with the substance and process of the planned reforms.
In my view, more emphasis needs to be placed on sustainable solutions and long-term planning, developing programs to strengthen families and communities and empower them to confront problems (rather than an over-reliance on top-down and punitive measures), and adequate consultation with indigenous communities.
There is a great deal more of value still to be said on the legislation, its implementation in the diverse communities affected, and the responses by those communities.
Careful attention also needs to be paid to the degree to which these policies actually resolve problems of child abuse and neglect; the ways in which alcohol and drug abuse, petrol sniffing and access to pornography increase the risk of abuse and neglect; and the extent to which the problems extend beyond remote indigenous communities into thousands of supposedly “safer” Australian suburbs, homes and families.
Our Baptist churches need to contribute more to the debate, and, where possible, to the solutions. And the people directly affected, all of them Australian citizens with their own hopes and fears, aspirations and perspectives, need our ongoing prayers and our genuine care. They too are our neighbours.
Rev Rod Benson is Director of the Centre for Christian Ethics at Morling College, Sydney.
September 2007
by Rod Benson
Last month, the Australian Federal Parliament passed legislation authorising the Howard Government’s unprecedented actions to arrest child abuse and neglect among indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.
These included measures for alcohol restriction; computer auditing to detect prohibited pornographic material; better management of community stores to deliver healthier and more affordable food; five-year leases on some communities to enable better management of investments and improved living conditions; land tenure changes for town camps; and removal of customary law as a relevant mitigating factor for bail and sentencing conditions.
This is an issue of immense significance to our nation, and to our churches and mission agencies working alongside indigenous Australians. There has been cautious support but also strong criticism from church leaders. Many have welcomed the government’s commitment to tackling violence and abuse in indigenous communities, but have expressed grave concerns with the substance and process of the planned reforms.
In my view, more emphasis needs to be placed on sustainable solutions and long-term planning, developing programs to strengthen families and communities and empower them to confront problems (rather than an over-reliance on top-down and punitive measures), and adequate consultation with indigenous communities.
There is a great deal more of value still to be said on the legislation, its implementation in the diverse communities affected, and the responses by those communities.
Careful attention also needs to be paid to the degree to which these policies actually resolve problems of child abuse and neglect; the ways in which alcohol and drug abuse, petrol sniffing and access to pornography increase the risk of abuse and neglect; and the extent to which the problems extend beyond remote indigenous communities into thousands of supposedly “safer” Australian suburbs, homes and families.
Our Baptist churches need to contribute more to the debate, and, where possible, to the solutions. And the people directly affected, all of them Australian citizens with their own hopes and fears, aspirations and perspectives, need our ongoing prayers and our genuine care. They too are our neighbours.
Rev Rod Benson is Director of the Centre for Christian Ethics at Morling College, Sydney.
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