Symptoms................................

"Sick cultures show a complex of symptoms ... but a dying culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness.   Bad manners.   Lack of consideration for others in minor matters.   A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than is a riot.   This symptom is especially serious in that an individual displaying it never thinks of it as a sign of ill health, but as proof of his/her strength.” 

-Robert Heinlein,  Friday