对别人有礼貌

A/D: We should never be impolite to others.

Courtesy plays a vital role in the modern society. Thus it has been argued that one should never behave rudely to others. I, however, disagree.

礼仪在当今世界起到了重要的作用。因此很多人认为我们绝不应该对别人无理。然而，我不同意。

Admittedly, in most cases courtesy is appreciated. After all, as a landmark of a civilized society, it is usually required by social norm. That’s w h y people stand in lines when waiting outside the dentist’s or talk quietly in public places like library. Besides, courtesy may also give us the edge over competitors. It is not hard to imagine a well-mannered young man is more likely to win the employer’s favor in a job interview. However, to say we should never be impolite to others is an overstatement.

诚然，在大多数情况下，礼仪是被认同的。毕竟，作为一个礼仪之邦的标志，我们通常被礼仪规范所要求。这就是为什么人们要排队等候当我们去看牙医的时候，或者我们要在像是图书馆一样的公共场所保持安静。除此以外，礼仪也给我们一个竞争优势。不难想象一个很绅士有礼貌的年轻人更可能赢得面试者的青睐。然而，要说我们永远都要对别人讲礼貌有些言过其实。

Consider emergencies. In such cases it would be senseless to overemphasize politeness. Imagine a man driving her wife to the hospital. She is about to give birth, but he still tries to maintain good manners, waving goodbye to the security guard at the front gate or apologizing nicely to the overtaken vehicles. The pregnant woman might end up suffering more because her husband fails to get her to the ER in time. Undue manners in emergencies might generate harm and thus could just be put aside. Similarly, in a fire disaster, if the firefighters are afraid to cause noises and reluctant to slam open the window, there could be serious consequences. Thus in emergent cases, it would be ridiculous to overemphasize courtesy.

考虑一下紧急场合。在这种情况下，如果过分强调礼节就很说不通。想象一个男人开车带着他的妻子去医院。她马上就是生产了，但是这个庄福还在努力维持好的礼节，和保安挥手道别，和被超过的车道歉。这个怀孕的妇女可能会以遭受更多的痛苦为结局。过分的礼节可能会产生弊端并且因此可以被放在一旁。相似的，在火灾中，如果消防员很害怕制造噪音并且不愿意再开窗户，那么就会产生严重的后果。因此，在紧急场合中，过分强调礼节是荒唐的。

The same logic applies to crime scenes. When criminals have resorted to violence, there’s no reason for the police to mind their manners. It is hard to imagine when arresting a suspect, the police officer would whisper in the ear and ask nicely, would you please lower your gun? I’d like to talk to you. Quite the opposite, the right thing to do is to shout, “Freeze!” and handcuff the criminal. Apparently shouting and handcuffing are anything but politeness, yet it is rough actions that work in such circumstance. If a policeman tries to talk to a kidnapper in a polite way, the criminal might run out of patience and shoot the hostage. Therefore, to fight against crime, the never-impoliteness rule obviously does not apply.

相似的道理适用于犯罪场合。当罪犯采取暴力手段的时候，警察就没有必要去在乎礼节了。我们很难想象当逮捕一个罪犯的时候，这个警官低声细说，“请放下抢好吗，我想和你谈谈”。完全相反，正确的事情就是大喊，“不许动”并且拷上罪犯。很明显的是，大喊和拷人绝不是礼貌，而是粗鲁的行为在这个场合下凑效。如果一个警官尝试跟绑匪礼貌的说话，这个罪犯可能会丧失耐心，杀害人质。因此，为了打击犯罪，这个永远文明的规则明显不合适。

All in all, in most cases we should abide by the social norms and behave politely. However, exceptions do exist and in cases like emergencies and criminal scenes we should learn to improvise.