John gray unherd5/15/2023 ![]() Is our British manners the reason for British exceptionalism and the reason for our historical ingenuity and successes. Why, because as Niall astutely explains, good manners tempers the ego. ![]() If a person is truly seeking enlightenment, then they know, or should know, that it is the ritual of manners and right action that facilitates self realisation, not soliptic hedonism. As such, the notion that liberalism is the ideology by which individuals can attain self realisation and enlightenment is unfortunately false since liberalism is in general heaven for the human ego. This is of course, sociopathy and liberalism more than any other personal ideology is an active facilitator of sociopathy. Hence, labels like authoritarian or fascist or any other control word are actively seeking to undermine and soften natural defences in order to attack. It seeks to attack under the pretext of Progress and manners are therefore derided as they are a natural obstacle to attacks. By utilising a collective form of defence, people can play their roles more effectively because they aren’t losing energy trying to defend constant personal attacks. This goes to the same with respecting roles. In this respect, manners are a collective form of defence which if accepted as the consensus, allow us much more freedom to think and feel as we really are. The emphasis here is of course, personal space, so rather than having to constantly defend it from intrusion by others, we have the time and energy to listen and respect other people’s personal space. ![]() That is, do not unnecessarily intrude and impose yourself into the personal and private space of others. It could be argued that British manners emerged from the Common Law ethics of causing no harm, loss or damage to others. I was somewhat sceptical, but if JG shares this belief then perhaps it is correct. This, of course, is Tom Holland’s thesis. I was interested to hear that John Gray considers liberal democracy to have arisen from the western form of Christianity. It has been largely insane for some decades now and the rest of the world can see it. By this I mean the insane levels of welfare, the lack of accountability across the public and corporate sectors, the fact that we continue to give money to India and China, the importation of millions of people who don’t share our ‘values’, the fact that you can only come to power by promising all manner of free stuff to everyone. It seems to me that liberal democracy is collapsing under its own absurdities. And then, if this does happen, with what will it be replaced? The more interesting question to me is the question of why liberal democracy failed to spread beyond, effectively, the Anglosphere and north-western Europe, and whether it will now collapse in on itself, as seems to be happening in the US. Quite plainly he is correct about the world dividing into different empires of belief, or whatever one might call them, and this has been apparent for a few years now. Lastly, we owe the UnHerd staff a great debt of gratitude in creating an “agora” in which unfettered, and I may add, civil, expression and debate, can flower.Ī very good interview that seems to synthesise many of John Gray’s articles here and in the New Statesman (don’t worry, I don’t buy the NS, I just read the few bits that are worth reading in the shop). Only with open minds and “good manners” can we hope to move constructively forwards and realize the remarkable potential of humanity to live in harmony and create an environment accommodating to all. Yes, many issues have come to the fore, and rightly so, which cry out for resolution, relating to racism, inclusiveness, diversity, equality, justice, human rights, poverty, opportunity, geopolitics and the economy. I regret having to refer to his actions as “brave” but such are the troubled times, now more frequently giving rise to anarchy, relating to the dynamics and essence of free speech, political correctness, woke and peaceful assembly, in which we live. I would add that he is indeed courageous to express himself publicly in defence of good manners and constructive dialogue. Gooch’s timely article and commend him for stepping out to share his views on civics, civility and the the importance he aptly accords respect and dignity in interpersonal and public discourse.
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