Christmas carols ringing, snowflakes falling, shoppers buying, it must be Christmas. Ah, it's the season of joy, love and extreme rudeness. People pushing each other, leaving their carts in the way, forgetting how to say "excuse me" or "thanks" for moving over as they barrel down the aisle toward the gift they want. Refusing to move over letting to let others pass by. All in the name of the Christmas spirit.

Even in the grocery stores the aisles are blocked by people who just don't worry about anyone else needing to get past them or to an item on a shelf where they leave their cart while they block the rest of the aisle.

I was in Kroger Thursday afternoon waiting to check out. There was one person in front of me in line. I wasn't blocking an aisle or standing where you couldn't get past, but an elderly woman came up and bumped her cart into mine. She apparently wanted me to back up so she could cut through the line in front of me. I backed up, let her by smiling at her expecting at least an excuse me or thank you for moving. Nothing. She barreled on by to the next line and made someone else move for her. All she had to do was push her cart down the regular aisle but instead she insisted on cutting in front of me and other people. That's not so bad but she didn't even say excuse me!

It seems to me that women reach some time in their life when they just decide they don't have to be polite anymore. Is there some magic age like 65 or 70 when you can stop being civil? Suddenly at that age you don't have to follow your own instructions to be polite. More importantly to follow the golden rule they taught us--to treat other people like you would be treated. These are the same women who spent their early mothering years insisting on their children saying "thank you," "excuse me," and "please."

Of course the fairer sex is not the only sex behaving badly, but we expect our mothers and grandmothers to be polite and kind.

We complain about kids being rude and many are, but they aren't the only ones. I see just as many adults ignoring the rules of courtesy. They refuse to turn on their turn signals when turning in front of you, driving 30 miles per hour in a 50 mile zone in the passing lane. They cut in front of you to take the parking spot you backed up to let the car out of. They stop right in front of you and block the entire row. And, they do it knowing you are standing waiting to pass by. They don't say anything to you when you hold the door open for them (especially in bad weather).

When did our society change so much that we began accepting bad behavior as commonplace?

With this in mind, I want to tell you about an article in the Baltimore Sun Newspaper which reports a new movement afoot.

In Howard County, Maryland the public library has launched a campaign called "Choose Civility." It is based upon a book written by P.M. Forni, the Johns Hopkins professor who wrote a book called "Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules of Considerate Conduct."

Over 2,000 copies of Forni's book have been purchased from the Howard County Library and more than 17,500 magnets with the slogan have been distributed.

Dozens of partners jumped on board the project including the school district. There are now civility Face book sites, web sites and blogs.

Other towns have joined the project. Cleveland Heights, Ohio and Duluth Minn along with Venice, Fla have started their own campaigns.

These programs are about much more than just saying thank you and please. Participants say civility reduces the literal and figurative costs of stress and leads to greater productivity, better health and more happiness.

And, all it takes is following some Golden Rule type steps such as the ones Forni lists in his book: Listen, think the best, speak kindly, refrain from idle complaints and apologize earnestly.

"It's not about which fork to choose for the salad, but it's about how we treat one another in everyday life, and what's more important than that?" says Forni.

The folks behind the civility movement suggest people yearn for another way in an overscheduled, speeded-up, stressed-out, self-absorbed society.

According to Marjorie Floyd, whose organization started the Gulf Coast Community civility campaign, "You don't give someone the benefit of the doubt because you don't have time. You don't let someone into your lane because you have to pick you own kid up from day care or get fined."

Yet there is a rising awareness in the benefit of practicing civility, "It's more difficult not to smile back at someone than to smile back. People are hard-wired to connect," claims Floyd.

The Sun article claims that it is impossible to tell if the program works. But boosters from Howard County point out that awareness is higher and, at the very least, they notice changes in their own behavior. They claim many have caught themselves on the brink of ungraciousness and edited out a honk, fist shake or cuss word.

Maybe it just comes down to Jay Newman and Kent Roberts quote:"Civility is a variation of the 'Golden Rule'. It is being kind, courteous, polite and avoiding overt rudeness. In community improvement it relates to higher-minded and self-sacrificing behavior. Civility is the "how" when it comes to building relationships."

Something to think about, eh?