Louis XIV: Legislate Manners?

There has been a lot said during the past decade about the “lack of civility” and the decrease in the institution of manners in the U.S., but the sad truth is, we are witnessing something much more profound than a forgotten “thank you” or failure to say “excuse me.”

Our lack of concern for our neighbors indicates an easy willingness to abandon a fundamental code: manners are simply a sign of respect. The decay of care and concern in our culture is erupting into a “soul sickness.”

Disrespect for others is becoming an American way of life. The Social Vigilante who steps in to voice a protest or make a comment is ragefully told to “mind your own #%*5>% business.”

Louis XIV used etiquette to keep control & maintain peace at Versailles. The "Iron Etiquette" of Louis XIV has been made to seem absurd--yet, Louis created the discipline of manners in order for an assembly of 3,000 to 5,000 people to exist harmoniously at Versailles.

Is it time to Legislate Manners and issue Social Demerits?

Norway As Social Vigilante

Norway joins fight to save Amazon

Cattle ranching is blamed for up to 70% of current Amazon deforestation

Norway has pledged $1bn (£500m) to a new international fund to help Brazil protect the Amazon rainforest.

The donation is the first to the fund which Brazil hopes will raise $21bn to protect Amazon nature reserves.

Norway's prime minister said the project was important in the fight to reduce global warming.

Brazil is one of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters, with three-quarters of its total coming from the burning of trees in the Amazon.

The money will be released over seven years to promote alternatives to forest-clearing for people living in the Amazon, and support conservation and sustainable development.

The Amazon rainforest Largest continuous tropical forest Shared by nine countries 65% Brazilian territory Covers 6.6m sq km in total Pop: 30m - 23.5m are in Brazil

Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg said: "Efforts against deforestation may give us the largest, quickest and cheapest reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

"Brazilian efforts against deforestation are therefore of vital importance if we shall succeed in our campaign against global warming," he added.

The Brazilian government wants to raise $21bn through foreign donors by 2021, although President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva has insisted that the Amazon's preservation is Brazil's responsibility.

He welcomed Norway's pledge, saying: "The day that every developed country has the same attitude as Norway, we'll certainly begin to trust that global warming can be diminished."

Japan, Sweden, Germany, South Korea and Switzerland are said to be considering donating to the fund, which was launched last month.

Kitty Genovese: A Nation of Bystanders?

Perhaps nothing begs for the examination of the Social Vigilante concept as much as the murder of Kitty Genovese on the evening of March 13, 1964 in Kew Gardens, Queens. The brutal attack lasted more than 30 minutes and the police confirmed that 38 people were witness to this horrific event from their apartment windows yet not one of them responded to the victim's screams and pleas for help by intervening or simply calling the police.

Thirty years after the Kitty Genovese incident, Caroline Eisenberg, a 23 year old student, died after bleeding for six hours on her rooftop at 106th Street and West End Avenue. Police investigators compared the murder to the Genovese killing. Two social psychologists, Bibb Latane of Columbia University and John Darley of NYU, attempted to develop a theory as to why no one helped Kitty Genovese. They came up with The Bystander Effect: the individual is less likely to provide help in the presence of other bystanders.

An I-Me-Mine Credo, Greed, Indifference to Cruelty in our world fuels the 'Ugly American' image around the globe.

Is the U.S.--"the leader of the Free World"--becoming a nation of bystanders?