I can second that first comment. It's more than just a lack of respect. Since I started working in ministry, I've tried to be more alert to people's attitudes and temperaments. There has definitely been a change. Not only is there an overall lack of respect and civility, I've observed a significant increase in the levels of anger and hostility in the past twenty years. It seems like it took a sharp upturn in the mid 90s.
The lack of respect is evident in the way people are treating each other, ways that transcend the violation of personal property. For instance, you can see how quickly people get angry when someone disagrees with them, on any issue. They cannot reason with disagreement with any degree of civility. You mentioned discussions on this board. There are some people I've observed who are spring loaded to the pissed off position, and the second anyone disagrees with them, the gloves come off and the insults and personal attacks start flying, and the discussion is quickly reduced to the level of irrelevance. It's not just this site. It's happening on just every message board on the web unless there is strict moderation.
The lack of respect for authority has sharply increased. A lot of people don't like to be told what to do, which includes being told to stay off a neighbor's land. A lot it can be traced to parenting, as you no doubt have come to realize. The parents' job is to teach their children about respect and that's where much of the failure lies. It starts in the home but unfortunately, respect isn't being taught in the home the way it once was.
I care about people and what we're seeing today is a legitimate cause for concern, not a negative indictment of society. I just wanted to make that point clear.
