It's no surprise that Americans who travel by air can be as uncivilized, mannerless, rude, slothful, obscene and thoughtless as they are in other parts of American culture.
Airline flight attendants, who are on the front lines of air travel, are reporting more verbal abuse, occasional physical abuse, uncontrolled anger and threats.
What's behind this behavior?
· A decline in morals and manners. Millions of Americans who've been cheated out of strong parental models at home fashion their public behavior on idols in sports, television and politics. They emulate obscene, discourteous, violent hip-hop and rock stars and sports celebrities who demean women and use street language that's banned in newspapers and on TV. Movies popularize the F word in the absence of intelligent scripts, while politicians such as Sen. John McCain and Vice President Dick Cheney rely on the F expletive to express themselves. The common cultural rage of the upturned finger has spread from congested highways to public encounters between people on the street.
· Airlines that have created volatile on-board conditions (narrower and more seats, no meals, delayed flight departures or cancellations, overbooking) and government security that treat passengers like cattle (security pat downs, intrusive pre-boarding questions, restrictions on luggage contents). By the time flights are airborne, most passengers are wound up tight with resentment and ready to unleash their fury on the closest target—flight attendants.
· Alcohol. Many passengers tank up on alcohol in airline terminal bars while awaiting flights, then order more drinks in-flight. Most of these passengers are legally drunk and would be arrested for DUI if caught driving. Yet, because alcohol is a major revenue source for terminal concessionaires and airlines, alcohol is ignored as a dangerous, combustible ingredient in passenger tensions in the air.
Smoking was banned on airlines. Alcohol, too, should be banned. Passengers who clearly have consumed too much before boarding should be grounded until they're sober.
My first airline flight was as a teenager after World War II in a National Airlines four-propeller DC-4 from Miami to New York City, and over the next 50 years I traveled in every generation of propeller and jet aircraft (including two Concorde flights) to Europe, the Far East, Middle East, Latin America and throughout the United States and Canada.
I noticed a dramatic decline in passenger manners beginning in the 1980s, largely by boorish drinkers who were loud and demanding and sometimes ill on their seatmates.
Erosion of respect for others is at the heart of street crime. How long before coarse behavior in the air will cause a major disaster?
