How manners can be a weapon to divide and disempower

THIS isn’t just any election year. With half the world set to participate in democratic votes, 2024 is being called the election year.

As disagreements around issues such as immigration and climate change come to a head, societal schisms are expected to widen even further. But there is one shared ideal that still unites many people: the concept of civility.

In September 2023, a poll found that while US voters are increasingly pessimistic about rising levels of political division, they tend to believe very strongly in norms of manners and respect. Ninety-four per cent agreed that “respect for each…