Discourse on a Social Habit: Flattery

Topic: Discussion on a Social Habit: Flattery

Discussion on a Social Habit: Flattery

I. Outline Discussion on a Social Habit: Flattery (Standard)

1. Introduction

Introduce the topic for discussion.

2. Body

a. Concept:
- A behavior with negative connotations, somewhat petty and mean-spirited.
- Flattery is an act of using pleasing, embellished words excessively, even providing false praise or accepting deception to gain favor from those in higher positions, aiming to achieve personal benefits.

b. Manifestation and Consequences:

* Manifestation:

- In the educational environment:
+ A student who knows how to speak skillfully to win the hearts of teachers is often loved and sometimes even receives 'teasing'.
=> Heavily influences the psychology of other students, easily leading to conflicts and discouragement in learning.

- In the office and administrative environment:
+ Causes: Leaders in higher positions with leadership roles often have common psychological traits such as disliking criticism, resenting those who surpass their authority, and wanting to feel adored while being conservative. => This creates opportunities for skilled flatterers.
+ Those praised will generally have a more favorable view of familiar flatterers, showing them certain preferential treatment. Meanwhile, those with genuine abilities are not valued, causing discouragement among employees.
=> Influences the credibility of superiors; leaders find it challenging to earn respect from employees and lose the ability to judge and assess capabilities when immersed in flattery.

* Negative Effects:
- Brings negative impacts to social life, disrupts the educational and administrative environment, etc.
- Buries genuine values, hindering the recognition of mistakes and the correction of many officials, civil servants, etc.
- Diminishes the value of praise, admiration between individuals, making life overly shiny, and people living in unrealistic illusions, unable to self-improve.

- For those accustomed to flattery:
+ Must live in a deceptive shell, achieving personal goals but always living against their own thoughts.
+ Never gains trust or affection from others.

3. Conclusion

Present a general observation.

II. Exemplary Essay on a Social Habit: Flattery (Standard)

'Speech comes at no cost, choose words that speak to each other's hearts' - a folk saying, a lesson passed down through generations advising people to be careful with their words, speaking beautiful and meaningful words for success in social relationships. However, until today, many have forgotten the true meaning of this teaching, only focusing on saying 'beautiful and meaningful words' regardless of whether they are lies or contrary to their own beliefs to achieve personal goals. Gradually, this bad habit of flattery has become widespread everywhere, causing people to immerse themselves in beautiful dreams without knowing the truths hidden by the eloquent words of others. At the same time, praise becomes increasingly cheap and worthless, arousing many contemplative thoughts within us.

Firstly, addressing flattery, it must be affirmed that this is a behavior with negative connotations, somewhat ignoble and petty. Flattery is a behavior that has existed since ancient times, when humans began to establish administrative systems, hierarchy in society. Those in lower positions often use sweet, poetic, excessively positive words, even offering false praises or accepting deceit to support those in higher positions, aiming to gain benefits for themselves. The goal of flattery is to manipulate the emotions of those craving glory, enjoying flattering words, indulging in self-illusions without distinguishing between truth and falsehood or pretending not to see to satisfy their own bad habits, immersed in the feeling of being welcomed and praised.

Nowadays, we see flattery happening everywhere, at all times, in all age groups, and in every country. Where there is social stratification, flattery will appear. Although it is not a contagious disease, flattery often brings negative impacts, significantly affecting social relationships and the fair evaluation of capabilities. For example, in the educational environment, a student who knows how to speak skillfully to win the hearts of teachers is often loved, and sometimes even receives 'teasing' in certain exam situations or is given more attention, overlooking some mistakes. This affects the psychology of other students who feel unfairly treated, their abilities unrecognized, leading to conflicts and discouragement in learning.

In the office and administrative environment, flattery occurs frequently and even becomes a 'tradition' in administrative offices. This originates from the common psychological traits of leaders in higher positions who dislike criticism, resent those who surpass their authority, want to feel adored, and are conservative with their own opinions (even if they may be unreasonable in some cases). This creates opportunities for skilled flatterers as they appear obedient, easily controlled, and especially know how to speak eloquently, meeting all the requirements of leaders who enjoy flattery. In the office environment, we often witness frequent flattery, praising the boss's beautiful tie, applauding the boss's smart child, praising the boss's wife's beauty, or using clichéd phrases like 'whatever the boss does is excellent, the only thing is that the boss is too omnipotent, making us employees embarrassed for not having such talents as the boss'... and many other useless flattering phrases. Due to the impact on the psychology of those praised, they will generally have a more favorable view of familiar flatterers, showing them certain preferential treatment. Meanwhile, those with genuine abilities are not valued, causing discouragement among employees. This affects the credibility of superiors, making it difficult for leaders to earn respect from employees and losing the ability to judge and assess capabilities when immersed in flattery.

It can be emphasized that flattery is a corrosive form of unethical behavior disguised as benevolence, making people susceptible and manipulated, even becoming an unpredictable threat. Reflecting on the history of our country as well as China, countless dynasties have wavered due to the flattery epidemic. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, there was Hòa Thân, during the Ming Dynasty, there was Dương Quốc Trung, both were eloquent flatterers who blinded the emperor and exploited the people, causing public resentment. In Vietnam, during the reign of King Trần Dụ Tông, a ruler incompetent and obsessed with indulgence, Chu Văn Văn offered seven times to resign to eliminate these flatterers but was consistently rejected. The result was the fall of the Trần dynasty into destruction.