We've grown used to people checking their Blackberries at meetings, at the bar, in the middle of deep conversations about human nature. We endure these routine insults. In fact, we've almost ceased to take them as insults. After all, we are only us, whereas the incoming e-mail might actually be important.

This morning, I saw a new milestone in our march to a complete loss of civility: An MSNBC White House reporter sneaked a glance at his Blackberry while he was on the air.