In Class Argumentative
In developed nations such as the United States, polite phrases and etiquette such as “Nice to meet you” or “How are you?” are friendly and useful for small talk, but they are completely empty of true meaning and goodwill due to centuries of repetition, and should be avoided as they are a waste of words and breath if a person does not truly mean it.
Common phrases such as “please” and “thank you” have lost their meaning. They act only as the default frame of conversations, but they have no substance or sincerity. The origin of certain etiquette such as saying “goodbye” or “farewell” to guests is the ancient Nordic value of hospitality. Guests were seen as a test sent by the gods to see if a host had good morals, as goes the myth of a man who treats his guest, a disguised Odin, poorly, and then has his son killed for it. Guests on the road needed all the luck they could get after leaving a safe host. So the hosts would wish them to “fare well.” While this carried much spiritual meaning and goodwill in ancient days, it does not matter so much anymore since incidents such as running into bandits on a neighborhood street is much less likely now than it was on a King’s Road.
Though niceties are a tradition with good intent, they are now simply an obligation. The repetition of traditions over time inherently drains them of their significance even though such repetition is meant to preserve certain principles and spirits. An example of such a tradition that has lost its meaning over time is Christmas. It began as a winter soulstice holiday for Pagan communities, and changed t...
