Civility: George Washington's 110 Rules for Today

by Steven Selzer

With advice for handling conflict, managing stress, and promoting respect, this book is for anyone longing for a more civil world.

Rudeness. Crudeness. Thoughtlessness. Hostility. Uncivilized behavior is everywhere. We all recognize how much happier we’d be if the prevailing culture were a civil one. Sometimes, in order to move forward, we need to take a long look back. At the age of fourteen, George Washington wrote 110 guidelines to cultivate civility and orient himself toward others, which he called Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation . In this book author Steven Selzer examines and expands on Washington’s rules, proving they’re still as necessary today as they were 250 years ago. With subjects ranging from media literacy to choosing friends to nail biting, the principles and proposals in Civility will enable readers to better handle interpersonal conflicts, conduct business, manage everyday stress with grace, and treat their fellow citizens with more respect.
 

208 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2019

Reviews

[Dora Okeyo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting take from an account that was shared over 200 years ago, and still most of these rules apply today. For as long as we live on this earth, engage with people and things, there's got to be some common courtesy, being kind and civil and thoughtful of others...and we need it now more than ever.
Thanks Netgalley for the advanced electronic galley...very insightful read.

[Phillip Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

People being rude seems to have gotten worse in recent years, but it is far from a new problem. The idea that self comes before others has been around for a long time, but it being accepted more and more as the norm. This shouldn’t be the case, and, as Steven Michael Selzer conveys in Civility, there are simple ways to combat it.

The book takes George Washington’s rules for being civil and updates them to match today’s problems. There are still some that will not apply today as they once did, but the underlying message of treating others with respect still applies. Showing each other respect would go a long way towards bettering relations with those around us.

I can see some people having a problem with a few of the rules, but that is mainly due to them thinking these are too strict. The book is definitely thought-provoking. There were a few that set me on edge at first, but then I realized that I was aggravated because I would have to set me aside.

Civility is easy to read and interesting, but not exactly what I had expected. Several times, the humor was wooden and seemed forced, like it was an afterthought. I know the book isn’t meant to be comedy, but it would have been better if the humor flowed better, or was left out. Even with that, I found plenty of things to think about.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Rebeca Núñez · Rating 3 out of 5]

** Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review **

Después de 250 años, uno no pensaría que hay necesidad de volver a repasar estas "Reglas de civilidad y comportamiento decente en la compañía y la conversación.", pero lo son. No creo que este libro tenga una intención opresiva, sino mas bien un hacer ver a las personas, que es necesario mantener ciertos estándares de comportamiento, simplemente por respeto hacia los demás. Porque todos merecemos respeto, y todos tenemos que ser respetuosos. Esta muy bueno que vayan acompañados por una situación real, que haga posible ver lo "teórico" aplicado a una situación. En una época donde se demonizo a la presión social y esta se perdió, tal vez repasar este libro sea una forma mas amable, de que las personas retomen ciertos comportamientos respetuosos perdidos.

Ademas en mi caso, tiene un valor histórico el poder. estudiar de qué se tratan estas reglas, que abren una ventana al pensamiento de la época y al pensamiento del primer presidente estadounidense. Siendo alguien que disfruta la historia, y siendo extranjera, también le encontré valor e interés por ese lado.

[William Cabell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Washington did not write this list of rules; apparently they were copied from a text written by French Jesuits. Still, they are timeless. However, Selzer’s interpretations of them are simplistic and add little value. In fact, in the cases where he dismisses station as a factor in modern civility, they are wrong. Class may not exist today in the way that it did in the early 1700s, but to insist that we should consider no person above us and deserving of special respect is misguided. To name just a few cases (and like all of these “rules”, this should obviously be informed by the particular situation), one should offer greater respect to senior family members, professors, and superiors and experienced colleagues in the workplace. Several rules around deference in these types of relationships that Selzer dismisses are absolutely still applicable today.

[Heather Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Civility is a interesting book. Some rules could not be applied today as the world has changed greatly. So one people have forgotten how to be civil or respectful.