The decline of civility

February 6, 2008 4:18 PM

Can you please point me in the direction to some good articles/rants/books regarding the decline of civility these days in the U.S. or anywhere for that matter.
posted by citybuddha to Human Relations (9 answers total)

Talk to the Hand, the follow up book to Eats Shoots and Leaves.
posted by jourman2 at 4:24 PM on February 6, 2008

Fuck no.

Seriously, though, yeah, there are a bunch. Most of them center on civility in the workplace, however, which is probably not what you want.

A Short History of Rudeness looks like what you're looking for.
posted by Sys Rq at 4:36 PM on February 6, 2008

Do you just want some that support this contention, or examinations of whether there is a decline? I mean, do you just want something you agree with?
posted by smackfu at 4:45 PM on February 6, 2008

The phenomenon does not exist. But it looks like other people have provided some links to people who support this contention (or use it to make money).
posted by drjimmy11 at 4:57 PM on February 6, 2008

This guy will tell you what you want to hear, and what you can do about it!
posted by nasreddin at 6:09 PM on February 6, 2008

Miss Manners often comments on evolving etiquette. (Column, book.) Sometimes it's what you're talking about; sometimes it's the opposite (excessive attempts at politeness due to ignorance of traditional rules); sometimes it's neither (praising the new rules). I don't agree with her on everything, but she's always entertaining.
posted by Jaltcoh at 7:02 PM on February 6, 2008

Violent Acres has a number of hysterical posts about bad service, rudeness and the decline of civility.
posted by Happy Dave at 11:05 PM on February 6, 2008

What I can tell you is that this is not a modern complaint.
posted by hot soup girl at 5:44 AM on February 7, 2008

Check etiquettehell.com if you like this sort of thing. =)
posted by agregoli at 9:19 AM on February 7, 2008