8 years after 9/11 attacks, incivility sadly rules

It's been eight years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America.

This year, as I do every anniversary of that horrible day, I reflect on the nearly 3,000 killed that day and wonder how their loved ones have marshaled on without them.

And I think about the kindness extended to me that day by a gas station attendant. Like most people, I suspect, I was more than a little distracted that day. After I gassed up my car, I drove off with the nozzle still in the gas tank of my car. I didn't realize my error until the detached hose began thumping against the side of my car.

I stopped my car and retrieved the nozzle, carrying it inside the convenience store.

"I'm sorry," I stammered. "I wasn't paying attention. What do you want to do about this?"

"It's OK. They're made to do that. Today of all days, don't worry about it," he said.

We were a changed people in the days and weeks following the attacks. We closed ranks. We gave one another the benefit of the doubt. We were considerate.

Eight years later, incivility is the word of the day. Worse, some people are benefitting from their bad behavior.

Is there any way to put this nasty genie back in the bottle?

From fields of play in sports to music-award broadcasts to the halls of Congress, high-profile Americans have behaved quite badly in recent days. What threshold have we crossed that some among us are no longer able to govern ourselves?

In organized sports, at least, there are swift consequences when people, as University of Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount puts it, lose their heads.

Blount was suspended for the season after he punched a Boise State University defensive end following the Ducks' 19-8 loss to the Broncos. He's a senior, so his college playing days are effectively over. Some speculate he may have also cost himself a shot at the NFL.

This past weekend, Serena Williams' profanity-laced tirade against a lineswoman cost her a point in the semi-final match of the U.S. Open, effectively forfeiting the match to eventual champion Kim Clijster. It has also resulted in a $10,000 fine (perhaps more) and a possible suspension.

Then there's rapper Kanye West, who stormed the stage of the Video Music Awards Sunday night, after Taylor Swift was awarded the award for Best Female Video. He interrupted Swift's acceptance speech, grabbing the microphone out of her hand to wage a protest in support of Beyonce. "I'm sorry, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time," he said. A stunned Beyonce looked on from the crowd.

(Beyonce, by the way, invited Swift on stage while she accepted another award, to yield time to the talented teenager to complete her acceptance remarks.)