John F. Kasson

This excellent history is a delight to read. There are references from the eighteenth and nineteenth century which apply today. Does ludicrous pretensions bring anyone to mind?

I cannot recommend this history enough so I’ll quote part of a paragraph from Chapter 3, 

in one of many telling texts in the book: 

“The more free the individual felt himself to be, 

the more isolated and lonely he actually became

until he craved to forsake his solitude in order to 

surrender his self to the new order of society itself.

Thus as authority drifted from the once-conscious

individual to the collective stupor of mass society, 

the whole idea of natural rights, the assumption of 

individual autonomy and freedom characteristic of 

the eighteenth-century thought, was collapsing in 

the face of nineteenth century [Twentienth century] 

[Twenty-first century] social realities.” 

The text does not provide answers. It tells that Americans and others have been in this state for a long time. If there is comfort in company, that is not the message. Recognizing the issues and the problems can lead people to develop answers to problems and to issues. Rudeness & Civility helps recognize the issues and problems.