George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation - Softcover

Grantham, Christian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0557759471 ISBN 13: 9780557759477

Publisher: Christian Grantham, 2010

Synopsis

George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation is a list of 110 rules copied by our nation's first President when he was a teenager in 1745. They were discovered in his manuscripts partly gnawed away by mice at his Mt. Vernon home. The rules are a list of maxims that taught modesty, respect and a heightened consideration for others to young minds who later led our nation in revolution. The moral character of our country's founders helped shape a nation that strives through its leaders to protect inalienable rights of its people. These rules and the patriots they helped shape remind us that we need civility and leaders of moral character if a civil society is to avoid the consequences of having neither.

About this title

About the Author

Christian Grantham is an author and health & wellness retail owner living in Woodbury, Tennessee USA with his partner of 25 years and dog. He has worked in print, radio, television, and online media covering politics for over 20 years. He has worked in civil rights groups in Washington, D.C. as well as coordinated domestic policy forums for the White House. Grantham has a B.S. in Psychology with Mass communication and English minors. Health & wellness has been a passion for the last 12 years with a specific focus on all-natural herbal remedies inspired by farm life. After several years of producing digital content of small ephemeral land art displays as a hobby on his farm, he is looking to share his love and inspiration from nature in book form.

From the Inside Flap

The following treatment of the rules preserves Washington's grammar and spelling as drafted in 1745. Each of Washington's rules are followed by chapter and section references from the original French Jesuit maxims as published by Léonard Périn in 1617 along with Conway's English translation. The rules are beautifully illustrated by Jeff Moore.

As you read and consider each rule's relevance in more modern contexts you might find some no longer apply while others do. In a society where anonymity in a digital age divorces many from consequences and accountability to others, civility and moral character are increasingly in short supply as are the leaders who possess both. Moral character is the difference between a just ruler and a tyrant, a true revolutionary and one who thrives on divisive incivility.

The following 110 rules serve to inspire those who ponder them to keep the embers of civil conscience stoked by considering the tone and behavior we choose in company and conversation. The very last rule #110 charges us to "Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience." As our nation's founders proved, teaching moral character can lead a nation in revolution. And as history teaches, we need both civility and leaders of moral character if a civil society is to avoid the consequences of having neither.

Edition details

• Publisher: Christian Grantham
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0557759471
• ISBN 13: 9780557759477
• Binding: Paperback
• Illustrator: Moore Jeff
• Number of pages: 139