Polite versus Correct

Much has been said about bowing to foreign dignitaries.  Many have said that a president never did it before.  They are wrong.  Nixon did it.  Eizenhower did it to many people including the Pope, the President of France, and a host of others.  Oh my gosh, even president Bush bowed to the Pope and kissed and walked hand in hand with the King of Saudi Arabia.  Does this mean that any president is subserviant to another person?  Does it mean Bush was gay? Seems that bowing and other non-tranditional greetings and familiarities by Presidents is not uncommon.  And what is more curious is when important figureheads shake hands with the worst despots on earth, such as Sadam and Mao.  Many Presidents have shaken hands with these incredibly vicious people.  In reality, we end up doing things today that look good and bad in the future and that is reality.  The main point is that it was correct and polite at the time.

If one cares about such things, then with a cursory reading of polite customs in different countries will see that being polite and subserviant are two different things.  In Japan and China, I bowed to many people and there is a class people in Japan take on the correct level to bow in each circumstance. 

As Mr. Miyagi said in Karate Kid, always look at the eyes is the general approach, but the bow itself in Japan is to show respect where touching another person is frowned upon.  The bow to a figurehead, like the emperor of Japan is also not the same as a bow to the head of their government.

Should he have bowed?  IRL who cares except people that have a problem with Obama in general.  Was it polite, absolutely.  Was it correct?  It is correct if you assume that following the customs of the guest country are reasonable.  Do you point the bottoms of your feet towards a Saudi in his country, absolutely not!  Always stand for your Host enterring a room and clean your plate in Indonesia.  Are any of these offensive to us or indicate we are subserviant to another person?  I would think they are merely polite and show courtesy to your host.

Did he bow too low?  Possibly, but unlike the Chinese, the Japanese don't structure their bows as much as the Chinese, but since he was in Japan, his bow was reasonable and nobody really cares. 

To Quote a excerpt from a Fox News Poll -

Despite an overwhelming number of conservative comments, the majority of Americans, don't have a problem with it. Even among Republicans, 53% see no problem with it and 67% of all Americans don't have a problem with it.

Manners, whether we like it or not, are sadly missing from our day to day dialog.  Cutting people off, insulting them, and crying foul for reasonable manners is more of a problem than the deed itself.  Being polite and accurately informed is the best way we can help correct many problems that face the country.  When we are treated politely, we are more likely to seriously consider diverging dialog.  The opposite is also true, so bowing is fine by me if it helps open a door for meaningful discourse.  Just do it right and with the right people..... ;o).