[edw519]

I do not believe that common courtesy should have anything to do with properly positioning oneself, scoring points, earning a good reputation, or anything else remotely associated with a "zero-sum game".

We should be courteous for one reason only: because it's the right thing to do.

The older I get, the more I realize how unimportant most details are and how critical some of the big issues are. I don't think anyone said it better that Hillel: "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn."

[zem]

another quote i find really thought-provoking, and pretty relevant to the current startup culture:

When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. - Abraham Joshua Heschel

[qohen]

In the specific context of courtesy (or, more specifically, the context of wishing people a good morning), I think this more recent rabbi may have the final word, based on his experience at Auschwitz:

The rabbi, now in his eighties, told me in his gentle voice, 'This is the power of a good-morning greeting. A man must always greet his fellow man.'

The full story is here -- it's short -- go and learn:

http://www.hasidicstories.com/Stories/Of_Our_Times/good_morn...

[rishikhullar]

"We should be courteous for one reaon only: because it's the right thing to do."

Digging deeper it's an ethics quesiton of whether things are right in and of themselves as "duties", or whether things are right due to their consequences, a classic debate between deontologists and consequentialists. Thanks for sharing your point of view!