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dear prudenceDear PrudenceAdvice on manners and morals.2NA=1154&NC=1214&DI=4098&PS=58312&PI=7315DearPrudencefalsefalsespacernotembeddeddear prudenceFor the Love of GodMy boyfriend won't have sex with me for religious reasons. Should I leave him?noFor the Love of GodGod told my boyfriend to stop having sex with me.noGet Dear Prudence delivered to your inbox each week; click here to sign up. Please send your questions for publication to prudence@slate.com. (Questions may be edited.)truenotochyperlinkno2009112570529AMWednesdayNovNovember711/25/2009 12:05:29 PM6339472952900000002009112570529AMWednesdayNovNovember711/25/2009 12:05:29 PM633947295290000000dear prudencePicture This!I refuse to sit for a holiday portrait with my future in-laws. Isn't it time they let their kids grow up?noPicture This!I won't sit for a holiday photo with my in-laws.noGet Dear Prudence delivered to your inbox each week; click here to sign up. Please send your questions for publication to prudence@slate.com. (Questions may be edited.)truenotochyperlinkno2009111971309AMThursdayNovNovember711/19/2009 12:13:09 PM6339421158900000002009111971309AMThursdayNovNovember711/19/2009 12:13:09 PM633942115890000000dear prudenceToo Ugly To FlirtI'm plain-looking and don't feel comfortable seducing men. Is that normal?noToo Ugly To FlirtI'm too plain to flirt.noGet Dear Prudence delivered to your inbox each week; click here to sign up. Please send your questions for publication to prudence@slate.com. (Questions may be edited.)truenotochyperlinkno20091112120304AMThursdayNovNovember011/12/2009 5:03:04 AM6339358098400000002009111270704AMThursdayNovNovember711/12/2009 12:07:04 PM633936064240000000dear prudenceThe Sex Toy TalkShould a 16-year-old tell her mother she wants a vibrator?noThe Sex Toy TalkI'm 16, and I want a vibrator.noGet Dear Prudence delivered to your inbox each week; click here to sign up. Please send your questions for publication to prudence@slate.com. (Questions may be edited.)truenotochyperlinkno200911570109AMThursdayNovNovember711/5/2009 12:01:09 PM633930012690000000200911570109AMThursdayNovNovember711/5/2009 12:01:09 PM633930012690000000dear prudenceTicked-Off by Tickle AttacksMy boyfriend thinks it's funny, but I don't. How can I get him to stop?noTicked-Off by Tickle AttacksMy boyfriend won't stop tickling me.noGet Dear Prudence delivered to your inbox each week; click here to sign up. Please send your questions for publication to prudence@slate.com. (Questions may be edited.)truenotochyperlinkno2009102970500AMThursdayOctOctober710/29/2009 11:05:00 AM6339239670000000002009102970500AMThursdayOctOctober710/29/2009 11:05:00 AM633923967000000000200311442716PMTuesdayJanJanuary161/14/2003 9:27:16 PM63178158436000000020078995723PMThursdayAugAugust218/10/2007 1:57:23 AM633222934430000000falsetruefalsefalsefalsetruetrue20011018111443PMThursdayOctOctober2310/19/2001 3:14:43 AM63139043683000000020011029111454AMMondayOctOctober1110/29/2001 3:14:54 PM631399508940000000 Get answers to your questions on morals, manners, and macroeconomic policy.By xHerbert SteinxStein, HerbertHerbertSteinfalse12Herbert Stein, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under Presidents Nixon and Ford. He died in September 1999.62hecon@aol.com/ hstein@aei.org(202) 965-2098202) 862-5800American Enterprise Institute 1150 17th St. NWWashingtonDC20036USA110362120011018111443PMThursdayOctOctober2310/19/2001 3:14:43 AM63139043683000000020011018105358PMThursdayOctOctober2210/19/2001 2:53:58 AM63139042438000000021dear prudence- 1st week will be paid weekly19971218120000AMThursdayDecDecember012/18/1997 5:00:00 AM630180000000000000243120011018111443PMThursdayOctOctober2310/19/2001 3:14:43 AM6313904368300000002001101874217PMThursdayOctOctober1910/18/2001 11:42:17 PM631390309370000000ASK PRUDENCE Beginning this week, Prudence, drawing on her rich experience of life, will answer questions submitted by readers. She will respond to questions about manners, personal relations, politics, economics, and other subjects. Questions should be sent to Prudence@slate.com. They should not exceed 200 words in length. Please indicate how you wish your letter to be signed, preferably including your location. Dear Prudence, In the past, when escorting a young woman to my automobile after, say, coming out of a restaurant, I would unlock the passenger-side door for her first before walking around to the driver's side. On modern cars with power locks, however, unlocking the driver's-side door automatically unlocks all other doors. This innovation makes first unlocking her door a superfluous and illogical gesture. Where do you come down on this question of chivalry vs. logic? Is it insulting to unlock her door first when we both know it's unnecessary? Sincerely, Lovelocked Dear Lovelocked, There is no conflict here between chivalry and logic. Chivalry requires not only that you unlock the door but also that you open the door for her, hold her arm to help her enter, see that the edge of her skirt has been removed from the door frame, and then close the door. Helping her enter can also be the occasion for sweetly kissing her on the cheek. Modern gadgets will not do all that, and real men don't want them to. Something has to be left for the men to do. Anyway, the idea of a conflict between chivalry and logic is mistaken. Chivalrous gestures, even though not utilitarian at one level, have a utilitarian logic at another level. Chivalrous gestures are a means of communication, and that is useful. When you hold the door for the girl, even though she is quite capable of doing it for herself, you are communicating the fact that you care about her and want to be her helper. Unless you are a great poet, it may be the best way you have of communicating those sentiments to her. Which gestures communicate what changes over time, as does other language. In my time, at least, holding the door communicated respect or affection or some other favorable emotion--depending on the personalities involved. What holding the door for your girlfriend communicates is different from what holding it for your mother-in-law does. --Prudence Dear Prudence, Ever since Seymour Hersh's book came out detailing the raw side of Jack Kennedy and the dark side of Camelot, I've been wondering what JFK did in today's context that warrants an eternal flame at Arlington National Cemetery. While there are few precedents anywhere in the world for eternal flames to honor individuals, there are even fewer precedents for turning them off once ignited. I don't suppose many would argue that JFK has greater stature than Washington or Lincoln, so isn't it a little silly to honor JFK in so unique a fashion? What, if anything, can be done that doesn't come across as overtly partisan or anti-Kennedy? --Troubled in Arlington Dear Troubled in Arlington, To snuff out the JFK flame at Arlington National Cemetery would be more trouble than it is worth. What is important is the flame of admiration and affection for JFK that burns in the hearts of many Americans. When that flame burns out, as I think it soon will, the flame in the cemetery will not matter. No one will go to it except to roast marshmallows. People flock to the Lincoln Memorial because they revere Lincoln as a man who rose from humble origins to become president of the United States, save the Union, free the slaves, and write some of the most profound and moving words in the English language. If the same marble structure in the same place were dedicated to William McKinley, no one would go there. In a prime location opposite the White House is a statue of Andrew Jackson on a horse. Thousands of people pass it every day, but no one stops to look at it. It will be the same with the JFK flame, in time. --Prudence Dear Prudence, Christmas was 25 days away when a fair number of my neighbors had already placed lights around their homes and fully decorated their trees. I like to think of myself as somewhat festive, but why has Christmas turned into a full-month affair? What can we do to keep this holiday from becoming the national bore? --Scrooge Dear Scrooge, Reread your life story in A Christmas Carol. If you have no problem more serious than boredom with an excess of Christmas, you are fortunate indeed. --Prudence, tolerantly10MenMenM10United StatesUnited StatesU10White houseWhite houseW10InnovationInnovationI10MemorialMemorialM10English languageEnglish languageE10MoralsMoralsM10ChristmasChristmasC10SeymourSeymourS10Arlington national cemeteryArlington national cemeteryA10Andrew JacksonJackson, Andrew People1 1111false2310falsefalsefalsefalsefalsefalsetruefalsefalse242.01997122033000AMSaturdayDecDecember312/20/1997 8:30:00 AM6301818540000000001997122033000AMSaturdayDecDecember312/20/1997 8:30:00 AM630181854000000000