This was a particularly arresting sentence in your excellent post. I'd be grateful if you would amplify a bit on this; I've never come across anyone say that Southern (we always capitalize that word) behavior was superficial and dishonest.
It's more of a reflection of how northerners interact. We're very direct with each other, even in situations like stores and asking directions, and this comes across as rude because even though there is no real disrespect or hard feelings behind it, it can be very gruff.
Southerners have more chatty interactions, with all around more words and always a smile and the pretense that you're chatting with a good friend. It is dishonest in the strict sense that you don't know this person and don't really care if they're having a nice day or not, but in that sense it's not a bad dishonesty, just a type of social game.