Better, Faster, Ruder

From CNN:

A slippage in manners is obvious to many Americans. Nearly 70 percent questioned in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll said people are ruder than they were 20 or 30 years ago. The trend is noticed in large and small places alike, although more urban people -- 74 percent -- report bad manners, then do people in rural areas, 67 percent.
...
Sienkiewicz, whose job requires hours in a car, said she tries to avoid rush-hour traffic because of drivers with a me-first attitude. The most common complaint about rudeness in the poll was aggressive or reckless driving, with 91 percent citing it as the most frequent discourtesy.

I heartily concur. I think our techno-society, with it's "whatever-we-want-whenver-we-want-it," is making us a nation of obnoxious spoiled brats. And don't even get me started on the driving thing; even in the eight years that I've been driving, I've seen courtesy go wa-a-a-ay down, to the point where no one even bothers staying in their own lane anymore (even when they're not on cellphones).

If people get any worse I suppose I can take some comfort in the fact that at least thanks to the Internet I don't have to leave the house all that much anymore.