Tactics

Am I tactful?  Not as much as my father.  But more than some people.

My problem with the issue of tact is that, in practice, it's the people of lower standing who have to be tactful with their superiors.  When the latter are tactless, it's just irrelevant!

I remember this Peanuts episode where Lucy throws a tantrum because her mother broke a promise to her as a show of power, screaming "It isn't fair!" But Linus tells her it would be better strategy to say, "I've been bad, and you were right to break my promise.  From now on I shall try to be good." What it comes down to is that it's up to children to reassure their parents that the latter's disciplinary actions were the right decision, otherwise the kids are "proving their point." Call it speaking reassurance to power.

I remember this tongue-in-cheek children's poem by Edward Anthony:

It is the duty of the student,

Without exception, to be prudent.

If smarter than his teacher, tact

Demands that he conceal the fact.