> signaling ingroup membership, belittling others, etc Good call. I'm certainly not an authority on being well-adjusted, but for me personally, those sound lik

> signaling ingroup membership, belittling others, etc Good call. I'm certainly not an authority on being well-adjusted, but for me personally, those sound like seeds planted in insincerity leading to a varied bouquet of suffering. In the context of creating a sense of community around us, we are better off if we learn to strive to act thoughtfully and sincerely from a young age, and encourage others who do likewise. I'd much prefer this rule to be a minor counter-example beneath "empower others". Answering sincerely-yet-appropriately to "How are you?" isn't trivial, but it's worth it. In the past week, I've responded with a wide variety of sighs (to friends), "ok. I'm ok." (to a doctor who I was seeing after being kept awake by excruciating pain), "right now? good, happy to see you!" (to a less frequently seen acquaintance), "oy, don't ask, there's a line. but I'm looking forward to this porkbelly!" (to a grocer). I imagine I might come off as a brash American if I were to try what I perceive as sincerity in more reserved cultures, but in middle class America it seems to work at-least-OK :-)