Whatever happened to nice?

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Heavens. The world has become so rude that the Emily Post Institute has stepped in to put a polite damper on cellular-phone volume, children behaving badly, four-letter words, unruly shoppers and caterwauling in general.

The newly published 17th edition of "Emily Post's Etiquette" now devotes an entire chapter to rudeness in all its permutations, complete with the "Dirty Dozen" -- a list of society's rudest behaviors, topped by telling ethnic jokes.

"Etiquette is not dead. The pressures of modern life can make civility seem less important. But in fact, the opposite is true," said author Peggy Post, director of the Vermont-based Emily Post Institute and great-granddaughter-in-law of the venerable manners maven herself.

"There is tremendous interest in the topic. Civility is more essential than ever," Mrs. Post said.

Indeed, recent polls confirm that boorish America is getting ... well, more boorish.

A survey of 2,000 adults released by New York-based Public Agenda two years ago found that eight out of 10 Americans say lack of respect and courtesy is a "serious national problem."

A U.S. News & World Report survey found 88 percent of us think incivility is getting worse, a trend confirmed by Good Housekeeping magazine, which found 79 percent felt society had gotten ruder. An ABC News survey revealed that 85 percent of the respondents felt the world would be better if we said "please" and "thank you" more.

Which is Mrs. Post's point exactly.

"How we treat each other in our daily lives is a true measure of the quality of our lives," she said, advising one and all to "make an active commitment to courtesy."

Many concur.