Seemingly oblivious to those around him, the young man talked on his cell phone, spit on the ground, puffed away on a cigarette and cursed loud enough for all to hear.

That’s oh-for-four, identifying the early-20s scoundrel as a social misfit or, perhaps, a batter in the heart of the Seattle Mariners’ lineup.

It was the former, lending credence to the widespread fear our nation’s future is in shaky hands.

His behavior was on display during prime time Friday, standing outside a more-than-respectable Enumclaw business. But it could have been anywhere – small town or large city – across the land.

Not to sound prudish, but what has come of decent behavior?

I personally don’t care if this lout talks on his phone 24 hours a day, spits until his salivary glands dry up, smokes until his lungs shrivel and blacken and swears like a longshoreman. But, why couldn’t he keep it to himself?

Instead, he showed his glaring lack of social graces while attempting to choose a movie at an outdoor kiosk – you know, the red ones that are sprouting all over.

The smoking should have ceased out of courtesy to those around him. The spitting? Well, I’m next in line and don’t want to see it or stand in it. The talking on the phone couldn’t help but slow his movie-choosing process, irritating those of us standing in the rain. And the cursing? Obviously, he didn’t think it would bother anyone or simply didn’t care.

Swearing, generally, is way down on my list of pet peeves. I follow WSU Cougar athletics, so I’ve been known to mutter a colorful oath or two; and, with money invested in a retirement account, I’ve had plenty of reason to toss a few expletives the past couple of years.

But never in front of strangers and not in a public place.

I could have been a minister in full clerical garb and it wouldn’t have made a difference to the young man in front of me. The f-bombs still would have been launched.

The more-nurturing side of me wants to believe this pseudo-punk is simply the result of poor parenting, that people are inherently decent if given half a chance – that civilized people can behave in a civilized manner if brought up in a civil household. It’s likely true that the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree.

There’s no answer to this growing social conundrum, but my long-held, half-in-jest belief still holds true: we would live in a better world if truly ignorant folks suddenly decided against spawning more of the same.