Polite or just phony?

Today I was wondering... at what point is politeness really being phony? Most of my life, I have made a point to be polite to people, sometimes even just to tell them what I know they want to hear, even if I would not naturally be inclined to say those things. The intentions behind doing so are not to be fake. The intentions are to make the other person feel good. But when I really stop to dissect the underlying intention behind this, it is really so that I will appear nicer in the person`s eyes. And this is really just so that I will be liked more. I never even knew what it felt like to ditch the politeness and only say what I really felt. And to be honest, it is a scary thought. What if I didn't have to say I liked something someone gave to me? What if I didn't have to say thank you the next day for something I had already said thank you for? And what if I didn't smile and nod when I heard something that I really didn`t agree with, but that I felt no need of arguing? My philosophy has always been... if it doesn't hurt me, and it can make them feel better, then give it to them. And I always thought this was the right way of seeing things. But now, I think I am just being phony. And I am starting to think that all forms of politeness are phony in a certain way. Most of the time, its just based on a moral/social code that somehow we all decided was the correct way to act. But I think most people have adopted this code to such a point that they have abandoned their true nature. Why is it so refreshing when a person comes out of nowhere with a blunt, and totally unrehearsed comment? Because we all, deep down, wish we could be that way. I'm gonna have to work on this with myself. I have been too worried about how others see me.