I think the loss of civility is the canary in the coal mine in that it is one of the symptoms of a declining civilization. History is full of the declines of empires from Easter Island to the Roman Empire to the recurring 52 year cyclic reinvention of the Mayans and their eventual unraveling.
Standards of living have been so improved that, short of nuclear annihilation, we won't see our own decline or that of others but rather a gradual realization that we have simply, and irrevocably, taken a turn for the worse.
The music that results from that is a reflection of that trend which seems to annoy us to no end. Because of this slow and bastard form of decline we will always have that tether to the past that allows us look both forward and backward.
Lest the youth aren't made aware of this tether they will continue onward into god knows what, but it won't be for the better. The loss always manifests itself culturally. Better teachers are needed but to blame poor schooling on unions is a bit of a stretch. Unionized teachers of Europe are the contributing factor to their higher achievement levels they hold over us.
All the best,
Nonoise
