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The real nitty gritty of real government is done in just the way it was shown in the movie, very much everyone grab a chair lets discuss this, and often times it is only the end results with the whole properness is what the public sees.~Quempel
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Actually, customs, traditions, symbols, and minor "nice-ities" are very important to abide by when visiting foreign countries; just ask Richard Nixon. Being "proper" may seem trivial, and insignificant, but it's common courtesy to respect the laws, symbols...etc of other nations.
In one account,
Saladin and the Fall of Jerusalem (something that is also portrayed in the movie The Kingdom of Heaven). When King Guy and Reginald of Chatillon are captured and brought before Saladin, Saladin hands a cup of water iced in snow to Guy. Guy hands the cup to Reginald, and Reginald drinks. This is an insult to Saladin who says "Tell the King, it was he, not I, that gave that man drink." and he slew Reginald. Another version of the story is Reginald was killed by Saladin's guards after leaving the tent. Either way, to insult the traditions, laws, symbols of a person in power, is an insult to the person in power and something you don't want to do.
Let us not forget that within LOTR, Aragorn offers parley with Saruman's Uruk-hai, and also lets the Mouth of Sauron deliver Sauron's "terms." Or how about when Hama asks the 4 travellers to fork over their weapons before entering Theoden's hall (because those are Theoden's orders) and Aragorn tries to overrule Theoden's orders? Hama, and the other guards, did not like that challenge to their King's authority and were ready to cut down Aragorn et all if they did not hand over their weapons.
So, even when dealing with horrible, evil, characters such as Saruman and Sauron, there is a certain "properness," "courtesy," "etiquette,"...whatever you want to call it that everyone follows. It is a sign of respect, an acknowledgement towards the people's customs, sovereignty, laws...and so on. It may seem contradictory, but there are also "Rules of War," and it being a "wartime" is not an excuse to do whatever you want.