The New Emily Post's Etiquette Author:Emily Post, Elizabeth L. Post Are manners still important? Isn't etiquette outdated or hypocritical? Or do manners and etiquette exist at all anymore? — Of course they do! And they are just as important now as they were to previous generations. But they are different manners, new manners. Yesterday, privacy, self-discipline, and formality were the rule. Today,... more » openness, freedom, and informality are the qualities that we live with. Manners evolve of their own accord.
All good manners are based on thoughtfulness for others and if everyone lived by the Golden Rule—"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you"—there would be no bad manners in the world.
A knowledge of etiquette—and good manners—carries many advantages. Acting according to accepted standards helps us to avoid criticism and to become popular members of society. Good manners simply make one more attractive. They are guideposts on the road to good taste.
This book, then, is designed to help you. It is not intended to complicate your life, to make it more difficult or less fun. Rather, it should make life easier and smoother. Emily Post's definition of etiquette is a valid today as it was in 1922: "Beneath its myriad rules, the fundamental purpose of etiquette is to make the world a pleasanter place to live in, and you a more pleasant person to live with."« less