A great many people have noticed over the years how polite and well-behaved both Upper Midwesterners and Canadians are. The secret explanation for this, however, is fairly dark and foreboding.
For you see, in the land of milk and honey, society had to be very creative with its punishments, principally because people had very little need of it. Survival on one's own was not only possible, but also preferable. So draconian measures were needed to convince the average denizen that they were better off being civilized than being evil.
But for those who were born at the extremities of civilization, where nature was at war with humankind, none of that was necessary. For all society had to do to punish evildoers was to banish them from its towns, cities and villages, and leave them at the mercy of the elements. At a certain point, survival on one's own became a very tenuous prospect, and making it through just one winter demanded more effort than even a lifetime sentence in the most dismal prison.
And there you have it. People in poor habitats do not have the luxury of individualism, and without it, they are by nature entirely dependent upon society, and therefore upon human good will. Hence their politeness, and hence their friendly disposition.
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