Does the courtesy slow the general progress in the world? Is not courtesy just a waste of time thatShouldStop?

Question

Imagine in general (hospitals, etc) the time that could save in benefit of everybody. Would not it be justified to stop the use of courtesy in order to progress in general?

Would be interesting to see opinions.
Thanks for your time.

People should consider my question as it is, just a question, it does not mean that I do not care about courtesy but some people think that people sometimes complicate too much explaining everything in a polite way so that her/his feelings do not get hurt when maybe we should consider that everybody is gentle by default but in order to bet for a practical and more advanced world, society do not use courtesy.
Also somehow, courtesy cause the most important problems in security as studies confirm that "social engineering" is the main weakness in security, this means that even courtesy or kindness, are guilty of that.

Answer 1

Courtesy does often slow things down, and I can see your point, that in hospitals, airports, whatever, it would move things along faster. In a life or death scenario, it would be appropriate to rush, and disregard courtesy, simply for the purpose of saving a life.

In the business world however, customer service has two key points: quality and speed. Customers demand excellence and quick service. It is unfortunate, because these two components go together like water and oil: they don't. This is what frustrates those working in the hospitality business: they would like to take the time to be polite and meet the needs of each customer, so that the customer will give friends and family good reports from that facility, however the business has multiple customers to deal with at once.

So what you propose, it's really a toss up. You could get more people through and finished in a shorter amount of time if you weren't courteous with each one, but this will not only lower your customer satisfaction rating, but it will also likely make you a more cranky person. And in a world where life is so short, wouldn't it be more beneficial to everyone to slow down and be polite?

Answer 2

The trouble with the lack of courtesy is that it would inevitably lead to greater "evils". We seem to have this tendency to push back the moral barriers. Many things that used to be considered rude if you didn't do them, we don't even think about now: giving your seat on crowded public transport to someone in greater need of it than you, saying thank you when someone does you a good deed, spending large amounts of time with your nearest and dearest, etc, etc.

There is also a wide range of attitudes towards various things, including courtesy. There are those who are genuinely courteous; There are those who are courteous because they are looking for some gain; there are those who try to be courteous but miss the mark because they don't know how; there are those who are not courteous because they don't care enough; there are those who are actively discourteous for various reasons.

If courtesy was banned, it is almost certain that the first two or three levels of courtesy would dwindle to almost nothing. They would be replaced by greater levels of discourtesy: people who go out of their way to be discourteous, people who seek to do harm to anothers' body or possessions. Since there are already people like this, they would undoubtedly sink further into discourtesy and all the terrible crimes that go with it.

A completely discourteous world would not be nice to live in and would, in fact, likely cause longer waiting times at hospitals through injurious acts caused by extreme discourtesy. People might be more susceptible to disese as companies discourteously dump toxic waste where ever they can as cheaply as they can. Aids and other STDs would increase as people would discourteously not use protection. I could go on, but I think I've made my point. Thank you very much for one the most interesting questions I've come across on YA. I wish they could have some sort of an award system for good questions, like Best Answers. Cheers!

Answer 3

What do you think courtesy is ? Do you want rude and abrasive ? Could you just imagine the counterproductive results if hospitals skipped courtesy ? Peoples health would fall backwards so fast your 'general progress' would come to a screeching halt . . . unless you consider living in hell, progress ?
What could possibly be the goal of progress if courtesy were stopped ?
Would not an end to courtesy be the END of positive progress itself ? Would not that be the beginning of a progressive nightmare ?

Answer 4

Disrespect is what you get without courtesy. Society dies without mutual respect and courtesy. So, no, general progress is not slowed by something that allows people to work together harmoniously (and respectfully). Butt kissing, on the other hand, tends to slow things down. If people in power had smaller egos, then that just might help move things along a bit faster.

Answer 5

Courtesy is never a waste of time. It keeps the system human. It also serves to maintain order.

Answer 6

Courtesy is mark of civilisation. remove courtesy and see the human being going back to the days of predator.

Answer 7

Definitely not. In my opinion you can't beat good old fashioned courtesy.

Answer 8

courtesy can also speed things up. i'm a firm believer in karma. not being courteous could come back on you. go on make someones day. be nice....

Answer 9

Dear hal128k,

Your question is an utter waste of time. Shut up.

Sincerely,
-.-

Answer 10

even my dog hates you