People who bemoan the current state of today’s manners — which can be pretty bad at times, I’m not denying that — are missing a crucial aspect: in the past 40 years or so, for the first time in human history, the modern West has signed on to the idea that courtesy should be extended to everybody. When you stop to think about it, the notion that everyone — regardless of nationality, religion, gender, occupation, race, age, or health status — should be treated with respect as an individual is extraordinary. I don’t think we, as a species, have ever tried that before.
So writes Robin Abrahams, our psychology editor, in her new book Miss Conduct’s Mind Over Manners, a few highlights of which appear on the Boston Globe’s web site.