Radha Mitchell Quotes

The American sense of decorum is falling apart.

There used to be an art form called the 'comedy of manners.' Why aren't comedies of manners made now in this country? The answer is simple. We no longer have manners to speak of.

Manners are the hypocrisy of a nation.

People don't know how to behave in public anymore.

Manners are of such great consequence to the novelist that any kind will do. Bad manners are better than no manners at all, and because we are losing our customary manners, we are probably overly conscious of them; this seems to be a condition that produces writers.

To Americans, English manners are far more frightening than none at all.

Manners are love in a cool climate.

The Japanese have perfected good manners and made them indistinguishable from rudeness.

I make a distinction between manners and etiquette - manners as the principles, which are eternal and universal, etiquette as the particular rules which are arbitrary and different in different times, different situations, different cultures.

Formalized rules of manners were so great because they left no room for basic human haplessness. They allowed us to circumvent our natural boorish tendency to disregard the feelings of others.

There's no chivalry in culture any more. Sometimes you meet someone who everyone says is polite and you're like, 'Wow,' but then it's like, 'Hang on, isn't everyone supposed to be polite?'

Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split.

Doubleday is used to my talking about manners because I am, after all, known for that, and that's my persona.

It's one of these things that I've been struck by for so long about America. You know, this amazing politeness of American life that's not at all class specific. It's not like people get more polite as ascend the hierarchy of society. Just incredible good manners. It's always been something that I've noticed.

Don't be so concerned with your rights that you forget your manners.

Good behavior is everybody's business, and good taste can be everyone's goal.

Politeness is half good manners and half good lying.

In England, we have such good manners that if someone says something impolite, the police will get involved.

To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered.

I find it upsetting to see the erosion of manners. It's very scary. Where are the 'pleases' and 'thank yous?'

I never let my politics supersede my manners.

Observe decorum, and it will open a path to morality.

No one is more insufferable than he who lacks basic courtesy.

I think the thing I miss most in our age is our manners. It sounds so old-fashioned in a way. But even bad people had good manners in the old days, and manners hold a community together, and manners hold a family together; in a way, they hold the world together.

An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one.