Where did all the manners go in the USA? They better NOT go extinct!

Although I'm in the UK I can relate to wondering where people's manners went. My mum came to London from India in the mid 60s after getting married. Even though she had a degree in English, it was not very commonly taught to use words like please, thank you and sorry (I find whenever I visit India that people come across as quite rude and abrupt when the speak English generally - this is not a dig at Indians - it's a difference in culture only). Anyway when mum was in hospital in labour with me, she said to a nurse on the ward "I want some water" and the nurse told her rather sternly "Listen lady, whether or not you're in labour, it doesn't hurt to say please!" My mum was mortified as she really wanted to fit into the culture of the UK. After she had given birth to me, she had a chat with the same nurse who told her that even though she knew mum was from India and probably not used to saying "please" when she wanted something, it was a good idea to get used to using that word and it would be a good idea to teach her kids that too. From when I first learnt to speak and also my brother who's over 4 years younger than me, mum and dad both taught us the importance of manners. Whenever we used to visit a friend's house, we would say "thank you for having us!" when we left and thank them for lunch, dinner, whatever, even if it was a glass of water. When buying something in a shop, I always say "thank you" when I hand over my money or credit card to the cashier (more often than not, my thank you is not even acknowledged but I will still do it). One thing with Indians which is very different to western society is that my Indian friends kids call me aunty, even the ones that are grown up, which I think is very sweet. Also I call all of my parents' friends aunty or uncle (unless the specifically insist that I call them by their name) - it's how we were brought up and I wouldn't dream of calling my real aunts or uncles by their first names! When I went to visit my husband's sister and family in the US for the first time last year, both the kids called me aunty and they're 13 and 17 - which I thought was really sweet. Anyway, the UK and US are fairly similar in culture generally I find, so just thought I'd give you my take on it. :)