Decency

"Justice is the law. And the law is man's feeble attempt to lay down the principals of decency. Decency! And decency isn't a deal, it's not a contract or a hustle or an angle! Decency ... decency is what your grandmother taught you. It's in your bones! You go home now. Go home and be decent people. Be decent!" - Judge Leonard White (Morgan Freeman) in Bonfire of the Vanities

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http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/us/politics/07bai.html
The dominant theme of the discussion, in which jobs and taxes came up only in passing, seemed to be the larger breakdown of civil society — the disappearance of common courtesy.
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Senator Collins last week delivered a speech at the prestigious Nancy and Paul Ignatius Program at Washington National Cathedral. The theme of this year’s program was "Governing across the Divide," and Senator Collins discussed the importance of civility at a time when Americans are tired of bitter and divisive gridlock in Washington. Other speakers included David Axelrod, senior adviser to President Obama; Josh Bolten, former Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush; historian Michael Beschloss, and CBS News and "Face the Nation" anchor Bob Schieffer.