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Pastimes : The Boxing Ring Revived
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To: Neocon who wrote (3626)1/10/2003 11:02:59 AM
From: The Philosopher  Read Replies (2) of 7720
 
There are certainly many circumstances in which honesty is indeed the best policy. But far from always.

If diplomats and politicians told the truth and nothing but the truth, we would have significantly more problems in the world than we do.

And of course there are kinds and levels of honesty. If I know that my client ran the red light, is it dishonest not to say so to the jury? Is it honest to state that the state has failed to prove that he did when I know perfectly well that he did?

I will leave to Miss Manners and Emily Post the question of where to draw the line between formal etiquette and simple consideration. But I suggest that consideration is very much a social thing. In China, for example, it used to be, and may still be, very impolite not to belch after a meal. The belch indicated satisfaction and pleasure. In this country, though, it wold be considered extreme rudeness intentionally to belch at the end of a meal.

Given your "very precise" (I would have used the term limited) definition of aristocracy, I agree with you. I merely note that your definition is not the primary definition according to the OED, which has as its primary definition of aristocracy "The government of a state by its best citizens."
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