The party crashers and decline of society

Here's all you need to know about Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the Virginia couple who've been in the headlines since they crashed a White House state dinner last month:

They are rude publicity hounds.

But you already know far more than that. Expect more interviews, dramatic pronouncements and, no doubt, a book deal.

The deceptive husband and wife are getting exactly what they wanted when they slipped into the dinner, falsely claiming they were invited - celebrity and a chance to cash in on it.

The Secret Service agents responsible for submitting to the couple's pleas have been given leaves of absences and may lose their jobs, which would be unfortunate. The administration is shaking up its social office, which botched the event. Someone from the office now will assist agents with the guest checklist.

The security lapse, having been addressed, is no threat to the republic. But a culture that embraces the likes of the Salahis may be.

The deceitful twosome represents the latest example of how the quest for notoriety is demeaning society. The "Balloon Boy" parents, Kate and Jon Gosselin and Octomom all have been in the spotlight for no meaningful reason.

It's no coincidence that Balloon Boy's parents were seeking to have their own reality TV show. Or that Michaele Salahi is to be featured on Bravo's "The Real Housewives of D.C."

A TV crew followed the pair to the state dinner, though it was not allowed in. You can imagine the film clips the network will use to promote the series.

Unfortunately, this insidious self-obsession is not limited to a few TV wannabes. Rude behavior is becoming commonplace.

Attend a concert, and you are likely to find yourself behind someone who thinks the audience came to watch him stand and sing the performer's songs.

Go to the grocery store and you'll overhear numerous private cell phone conversations.

In a caustic essay in the latest Vanity Fair magazine, James Wolcott writes of hearing a young woman engaging in a loud, foul-mouthed monologue on her cell phone while in a drug store. Her rant seems familiar when he realizes, "This is how drama queens behave on Reality TV - a perfect mimicry of every spoiled snot licensed to pout on Bravo or VH1 or MTV. The thin-skinned martyred pride, the petulant self-centered psychodrama - she was playing the scene as if a camera crew were present, recording her wailing solo for the highlight reel."

Reality TV celebrates self-indulgence and conflict - not good behavior. Anger has become more fashionable than graciousness.

Perhaps "The Real Housewives of D.C." would not attract many viewers if the participants were honest and courteous.

But perhaps if the producers were more skillful they could interest us in a moral lesson about why you should not attend an event uninvited.

Rude behavior may be funny to some people, but everyone wants family, friends and co-workers to be polite and considerate.

If the old proverb is true that courtesy is learned from the discourteous, our modern culture has no shortage of boors to instruct us.