Yeah . . . I didn't read the rest of the thread (yet) but I don't really know that I need to go a whole lot deeper into it.
We need to remember that societal expectations, just like, well, everything else in society, are dynamic and temporal - that is to say, they depend highly on the time and place, and change drastically between periods.
No one would imply that we should go back to monarchy, or that legislators should wear powdered wigs - but a (relatively) short time ago, these were EXPECTED of people in these positions.
Just as we would consider these excesses silly, some consider wearing the 'Sunday Best' out to dinner or a movie to be excessively overwrought - and, if that's the direction society moves, those who cling to the old ways will wind up as social dinosaurs - picture your grandmother talking about this sort of thing . . .
Anyway - the point? It's not "deterioration" any more than any other shift in mindset can be considered "deterioration" - you may feel it to be coarse, banal, in poor taste . . . but you're applying your own value judgements to the drift of society. That, i believe, defines 'pissing at the wind'. Sure, you might feel the lack of decorum is startling, but realistically it's nothing more than an application of value judgement to societal expectations you cling to as they're going out of date.
So chill out, aight?
Quote:
Originally posted by aephi alum
The other day I went with my family into NYC, went out to dinner, and attended a concert at Lincoln Center... and it struck me once again just how much our society has deteriorated.
1. The last note of the piece had scarcely died when several people booked it up the aisles and out of the hall - both before intermission and at the end of the concert. They didn't even bother to applaud, showed no respect for the performers, just whooooosh! (Well, they missed an encore  )
2. Before the start of the concert, the message "Please turn off your cell phone and pager" was projected on the front wall. The very fact that this message had to be posted speaks volumes. As it was, some idiot's cell phone went off mid-concerto. 
3. I could not believe the way people were dressed! T-shirts, shorts, jeans, sneakers etc. This was true both at the restaurant and at the concert. Even older people were wearing outfits more appropriate for the beach or the gym than for the concert hall.
It wasn't all that long ago that going to the office without a shirt and tie was unheard of and women were turned away from restaurants for wearing pants rather than a skirt. At this rate, it won't be long before people start routinely showing up to weddings and funerals in jeans and whatever T-shirt from the laundry pile was the least stained.
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