I'm Ok

How are you?  It is a question we ask or are asked pretty regularly.  It does seem like the standard answer is, *I'm ok* or something similar.  It also seems that often it is a polite question that we really don't wish to answer truthfully.  Nor, do we really want the other person to either.  Many times I have been asked about how I am doing and before I can answer, the other person has already moved on.
Where in the world did this practice come from and why do we still do it, when often, especially with strangers, we are not really even interested?
I am just as guilty as the next person.  I have asked others how they are, out of habit.  Occasionally, I am surprised with some brutal truth.  I don't mind this at all when it is a close friend.  I have asked it out of a real desire to know what is or has been going on in their life.  When I get the same candid truth from a stranger, it is uncomfortable.
Some of us too are guilty of not listening to the answer to this question.  Many times, I have asked it and had someone respond, *not very well, thank you*.  Sometimes, I have wondered if they responded this way to see if I really have listened to their response.  When I first started speaking publicly, I learned to actually listen to those who came to me afterward.  My biggest problem then was trying to help them find a stopping point.
We seem to ask this question out of politeness and then respond rudely.  We either don't care or don't wait for an answer.  I am not against being polite.  I think we actually need more of it in our world.  I believe we need more compassion.  Let's just make it real.  No more veiled attempts at being polite.