by Hasan Goreja

Created on: September 08, 2008

British are an old nation and they have survived through many eras of humankind. Eons ago from Dark Ages to now, that we see them today. So it can safely be asserted that they have a strengthened base of values, ethics and fundamentals. Americans, on the other, can be regarded as a sapling of the "Brits", as they are addressed. So the disparity is quite striking but I'd move on to further second my stance.

History of British are evident of the fact that manners originated from Britain. Pick any classic piece of writing from a British author and you'll find that even in the most uncongenial living conditions, they addressed each other as Sir or Madam. By watching the movies based some classic novels (Northhanger Abbey, Oliver Twist to name but a few), one can easily infer that no matter what the conditions were, they never left civility and manners. This does not strictly refer to the times bygone. These examples can be seen even today. You don't need an Einstein's brain to ponder over the conversation of a British. You'd repeatedly hear the words "Thank you", "Apologies" and "Sorry".

The wishes for different times of the day took birth from Britain. Good morning, Good evening and Good night...........But what Americans did with such regards. They made a short cut and the elaborate wishes were shrunk to "Hi" and "Bye".

The paraphernalia British police is a clear symbol that the British are not a spare-the-rod-spoil-the-child type and understand the difference between rowdiness and civility. The police officers only carry a whistle and a baiton, which they seldomly use. The American cop, as they call him, are laden with the state-of-the-art gizmos and weapons to counter the most unruly criminal.

Consider the dress code, for instance. The formal dress which we usually wear in offices are a creation of Britishers while the casuals i.e jeans were created by none other than Americans. So we can easily asses the level of mannerism and ettiquettes in British society.

It is prevalent........and evident too - from the movies atleast - that Americans use foul and rude words as if there is nothing wrong with the usage. The F-word, especially, has become a part and parcel of the general day-to-day communication. I've never heard nor seen Britishers using a foul word, instead they always detest such acts.

The behaviour meted out to those whose articles I've studied in this debate may not be the true American sort of. Perhaps a reason behind extensive deterioration from the etiquettes in USA is that it holds gazillions of immigrants from different parts of the Globe. But now as they come under the Striped-Flag so every action performed by them will be attributed to the American nation as a whole.

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