Things are changing fast in America, and some of the new looks are simply bizarre. If you watch the NFL halftime programs, you see guys in thousand-dollar suits wearing ugly sneakers. Why? It's not suitable, so to speak. They look foolish. Get shoes. That's not hard. But don't wear brown shoes with dark suits!

Why do I have to explain this?

The sneakers thing began about a decade ago when some women wore them with dresses. Again, why? Are they trying to look like Janis Joplin? Wait. Even Janis would be appalled. She possessed a sense of style.

Along with clueless dressing comes terrible manners. Many younger Americans believe they are entitled to the "kindness of strangers" and feel no need to reciprocate that largesse. There's a reason for that. When you live in the cyber world, standards of behavior are not present. You do what you want as long as your thumb is working. When you finally put down the device and actually walk outside, the cyber-mentality accompanies you.

Thank you notes? On the verge of extinction. Bringing a gift when invited to someone's home? Not the rage.

The culture is also in trouble. Book reading has drastically declined because people cannot concentrate for more than 20 minutes. They begin to fidget as they reach for the device. Did I miss a text while reading that darn book? Did some cyber gossip escape me?

Look at the junk on prime-time television. Naked people on islands stabbing each other in the back because that's easier to do unclothed.

Singers wearing masks, dancing with obscure celebrities, old guy bachelors. If this isn't "the end of days" in the entertainment world, then I don't know what.

The f-word is now as common as "please," bad grammar is a badge of honor, tattoos swallow up skin, and even the indigenous people of New Guinea are appalled by all the piercings.

Pot is legal, George Clooney is selling tequila on television, and 12-year-olds are betting the sports spreads even as gambling TV ads echo through American homes.

Here are some other things on the endangered species list: church-going, punctuality, saving money, self-discipline, self-sacrifice, respect and kindness to the elderly, due process, keeping your word, and sincere contrition.

Yes, I am an old-school guy. But I know things were calmer and much more sane when sneakers roamed the playgrounds, not the boardrooms. We may not be on the eve of destruction, but we are certainly not on the road to enlightenment.

And if you agree with me, maybe you tweet about it.