The social man only knows how to live in the opinion of others. Today there is far too much undeserving public praise. The omnipresence of worshipful stories about celebrities in every form of media. The very pervasiveness of such pandering undermines the authenticity of private praise. The solution is that we must embrace flattery to redeem praise.
Small flatteries are part of the mortar that holds society together.
It is one of the little, daily rituals that keep civil society civil. It is the tactical omissions of everyday life that make society possible. Out of both compassion and convenience, we almost never contest other people's depictions of themselves. I think it is. I don't think so.