Behaviour (The British and The Russians)

Let me begin my speech with a well-known quotation: «Behavior is a mirror in which everyone displays his image». The author of this idea is Goethe and I completely share his opinion.

Good manners and rules of behavior at home, work, transport, other places are extremely important in modern society. A person is always seen and evaluated through his behavior and communication with other people no matter what nationality he is.

It is a common assumption that British people as compared to the Russians are more well-mannered and well-behaved. They are the nation that pays a great attention to politeness and benevolence.

So what behavior is considered to be good and bad in Britain and Russia?

To begin with, when we speak about the British behavior we mean tact, insularity, politeness, honesty and correctness. They are tradition-loving, kind-hearted, nationalistic while the Russians are thought to be emotional, noisy, rude, open if we speak about the manner of communication, but unsmiling. That doesn’t mean we are unhappy though. Smiling is generally thought to be something to be shared with a friend. Smiling at a stranger is an “Americanism” and is assumed to be insincere.

Secondly, there’s a stereotype about the accepted code of behavior of the British people which doesn’t allow the straight forward expression of what they think and feel. In constant to the Russians who prefer directness, British people tend to understate things. A conversation is full of hints, half-tones and half-statements. It is rude to interfere in peoples affairs. So, They are known to have a cult of privacy. So curiosity is normal in Russia but is condemned in Britain.

What is more, The British see self-possessions as the highest quality of human character. They regard free display of emotions as vulgar and antisocial. They value the ability to stay calm in all situations and leave things unsaid. They are extremely reserved. In Russia people will never stay indifferent. They will argue and try to prove their point of view. They are quick-tempered and tend to make conflicts.

I have found all these facts in the media. However, tourists visiting Britain have a different impression. So, nowadays, according to my aunt, who visited Britain for the fourth time this year and lived there all summer long, the British are open and emotional as well. They will never lose a chance to cultivate good manners no matter who you are- a child or a foreigner. They call this “minutes of politeness”- they can stop a stranger who is behaving badly and explain politely to him what has been done in the incorrect way and emphasize that it’s extremely rude not to say- “excuse me, please”. A man walking in the street will always stop a running boy just to say that running in the street is not good and there is a great chance to knock somebody down. Most of the Russians unfortunately would prefer not to lose their time and pass by. Some elderly people may remind you of the rules of behavior but in most situations they will hear some course and rude words in response.

As for me, I think that rudeness and arrogance is a bad behavior and the ability to be polite, follow the table rules and etiquette, respect the elderly and care about young is good behavior no matter what country you live in. I can’t stand teenagers bullying young children or old people in the street.  We have no right to ridicule or offend others. Being rude and arrogant is not acceptable. You should always bear in mind that bad things come back to you.(+6)

Much attention should be paid to manners and good behavior from early childhood.

The british children when in public always would demonstrate their good upbringing and good manners, whereas Russian children When they are not supervised by parents would do their best to be rude and selfish and bully.

Speaking about upbringing of children in Britain, they are told to be polite and follow the rules of etiquette from early childhood. Everyone knows what the “Puritan upbringing” is. It implies educating children in strictness but justice. Children must have a lot of interests like music, sport or foreign languages. They are told to be willing to help and do charity. The main task of such an education is to make a child independent, develop strong character and strength of will but not to forget about good manners. The excellent example of puritan upbringing is shown in the compositions of Pamela Lindon Trevers “Merry Poppins”

In Russia children play a very important role so parents try to teach and to raise their child using all their energy. They try to spend all their free time with their babies. Children are treasured and fiercely protected by their families. As a corporal punishment of children in families, parents believe that this can only refer to its moderate use for educational purposes, without inflicting harm on the child. Russian children are educated on fairy-tales about gold fishes, imaginary situations, lazy people waiting for a miracle.

I think the majority of parents try hard to bring up their children. But it is becoming more and more difficult. Having a child who is disrespectful can be a source of constant embarrassment and distress to a parent. Every good parent wants the best for his kids. You don’t want your child to be snobbish and selfish. Raising children by encouraging and praising is not very sensible especially when they are at the age of puberty. So, all the parents who want to groom their children into a well-mannered child,  need to be very peculiar and careful about the way they behave and talk themselves.

• Start teaching good behavior since childhood. Follow the rule “The earlier, the better”
• Set a good example.  Example is more important than words. You cannot expect your child to be good and kind if you have bad habits and use course words.
• Never abuse your child. Abused children grow up with a low self-esteem and can become abusers themselves.
• Teach them to share. Kids do need to know that some things should be shared.
• Teach them what is right and want is wrong
• Make them do chores. Chores will teach them responsibility and as a result they will realize that not everything will always be done for them.

No doubt, no one can guarantee that the best parents will have the best children. That is true that many parents do their best, but there are a lot of other factors that have influence on children and contribute to their upbringing. Or I’d rather say have negative impact. These factors are: friends, media, street.

Speaking about friends, I personally try to follow the rule “Be careful who you surround yourself with, because you can become what they are”

Everyone remembers the old saying “tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are” I think it is very familiar to all of us. It’s difficult not to follow the crowd. Friends and others that you socialize with do  determine your behavior because they are part of your daily environment. Some scientists say that most of us begin  to imitate the behavior of our  friends, both positive and negative characteristics. You begin to pick up certain habits that they have, sometimes because of the fear of being ridiculed and sometimes because of the possibility of being made fun of. This means that we need to choose carefully who we communicate with because these people will influence our lifestyle, manners, actions. We spend a lot of time with our friends- no wonder we have much in common. The first thing, which unites people, is surely music. Music plays a very important role in our life. It motivates and calms down, encourages and inspires. However, teenagers prefer listening to and admiring such styles as rock or rap and even heavy metal, which were proved by the scientists to cause aggression and hatred.  

I believe most of you will agree that the time spent not in the company of friends or family is the time spent in front of TV or the internet. As a matter of fact, with the wide spread of this media, people’s behavior and thoughts have changed a lot since it has become an inalienable part of our daily life. Television and movies influence people’s behavior by altering their views of value, beauty, and the world. They satisfy the imagination. Heroes achieve great success in business, find sweet love, and gain high respect easily within a two- hour H long movie. While watching people experience the same feelings, share emotions and fulfill the fantasies. So media may encourage people but not always to good actions. Unfortunately, there is a lot of violence on tv and the internet, which may have a negative effect on our mind. So to my mind tv does more harm than gives beneficial aspects. It doesn’t usually give the completely truthful information, it makes people addicted to every-day routine watching of the monotonous browsing of TV.

As we live in the world of media today, it is not surprising that celebrities remain in limelight and are chased everywhere by cameras. The most interest is given by the youth. They try to imitate celebrities clothing, manner of behavior. Unfortunately, some teens are more likely to listen to the words of their favorite celebrities than to their own parents.(14,15)

The impact of religion on human behavior touches every aspect of our lives. Religion has always had an impact on humans behavior as it is one of the most powerful psychological tools to reach the minds of masses. Religion implies a special dress code, attitude to life and death, women, love and children. Religion is a guide. It teaches us  good things, behavior, discipline and the right way of life.

Undoubtedly, people should contact differently with friends than with family as there are two completely different kinds of relationships.