Growing up, I was not educated by nuns, raised by particularly stern parents, or compelled to commit to memory the collected works of Emily Post. Even so, I knew that a gentleman ought to open a door for a lady, exercise restraint in using colorful language, and write a thank-you note upon receiving a gift. I was raised in a household, and came of age during a civilizational moment, that still prized good manners, or at least their outward display, which is better than nothing. Alas, that moment is very far from our own. On a daily basis, we are blasted by ample examples of crassness, curtness, and all-around disagreeableness. Granting the fact that these faults are common to humanity in all times and places, few could argue with the proposition that life in 2025 has been unusually and needlessly coarsened. Drivers on the road rev their engines menacingly, passersby on the sidewalk glare bad-naturedly, and previously unutterable language has found its way onto TV — it’s bleak out there. Consider an ordinary chore such as going to the grocery store, which, in the third decade of the 21st century, has become a study in the veracity of The Fall. In my experience, many shoppers have a sketchy sense of being engaged in a communal activity. Grocery shopping has become Exhibit A for the proliferation of the ethos of Black Friday throughout the year: lots...