Thanks for posting that.
I would have to totally agree; one of my pet peeves is manners, or actually, the lack thereof. I see soooooo many kids who have NO manners. They don't say excuse me, they don't open doors for old people, and they won't meet your eyes when you speak to them. As a waitress, I like to think I got my share of dealing with annoying people, and also having to maintain the rules of polite society, and it really bothers me when other people can not be bothered.
I wouldn't want really rigid society rules (like, say, those of the Victorian era), but I don't think it's helpful to the human race to being raising a generation or 4 of people who can't say "please" and "thank you" or carry on pleasant conversation in the elevator.

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein


"A politician is a person who can make waves and then make you think he's the only one who can save the ship."
Ivern Ball

Why do most liberal political arguments boil down to someone shoving their pointy little nose in my face and saying "Well, you see, we've decided that personal responsibility, self-reliance, and independent thinking are old-fashioned and very passe'--not to mention dangerous and problematic!--so we insist you desist on all of the above at once!"