America has become the Land of the Rude.

I have incontestable proof — the unflushed toilet.

Indoor plumbing has been a fixture of life in the U.S. for decades. There is not one adult alive in this country who can claim ignorance of the practical operation of indoor plumbing fixtures.

However, a plague of poor toilet behavior has befallen the land.

Not a day goes by where I enter a public restroom to find that better than half the commodes have not had their handles tugged by someone — or horror of horrors, many someones — who left a deposit festering in the bowl.

Drunken non-flushing, a common situation in the residence halls, is somewhat excusable.

It’s too much to ask for a booze-sodden wretch to find the handle while in a brain-twisting stupor.

But clean, sober, perfectly-in-control non-flushing is inexcusable. It is downright dirty, a prime method of spreading disease. And it’s just plain gross.

Is there nothing nastier than the stench of someone’s urine that has been in the can overnight?

This lack of flushing indicates a few possible societal problems:

1. Parents are failing in their toilet-training responsibility.

2. People do not understand the purpose of indoor plumbing, which is to get waste products out of one’s dwelling so they don’t have to be stored in slop jars.

3. People are stupidly, ignorantly rude.

The third problem is the most likely.

Why am I ranting about this?

Because society requires rules of behavior to operate effectively and to keep it from degenerating into borderline anarchy.

And because I consider myself to be a rather polite person.

Stop laughing. Right now. I mean it. Stop.

Honestly, I am. I say “Excuse me” if I bump into someone in the hall.

I say “Pardon me” while moving through supermarket aisles.

I say “Thank you” and smile to fast-food workers as they assemble my tray of deep-fried morsels.

I hold doors open for people coming through behind me.

I keep the profanity down when I’m around people I don’t know.

And yes, I pull the john’s handle after every visit.

I do this because it can’t hurt to spread a touch of good feeling around. The world is a cutthroat place, and a bit of positivity certainly couldn’t hurt.

Of course, when you are six feet tall and weigh 280 pounds or more, it isn’t necessary to go around being a rude jerk. People become very polite as a matter of self-preservation, even if there isn’t any actual threat present.

And being flat-out nice to others greases the skids of everyday business. A simple “please” or “thanks” can get things done that normally wouldn’t get done, or gets them done more efficiently.

Say “please” to a service worker, and he will probably go out of his way to complete a special request for you. I should know; I’ve worked in various thankless service jobs for years.

However, for all my efforts at spreading a bit of goodwill, rudeness has become deeply ingrained in all levels of American society. And it is really getting me steamed.

Along with the unflushed john, other little details from everyday life bear this out. Do a bit of people watching and you will see the inherent rudeness that has taken root in America.

See people not holding a door for someone following less than two feet behind. Thrill to the sight of customers abusing the help at a busy McDonald’s.

Hear a public conversation loaded with more profane language than is blurted by NFL linebacker Bryan Cox after a referee’s bad call.

Are these people so insecure that they must swagger about, getting bad with everyone they meet? They must have a sad existence indeed.

And this behavior is not just rude, it’s dangerous. It feeds violence in society.

If you slam the door in someone’s face, mosh your way through a crowd, or abuse the help trying to serve you your Big Mac, you are going to piss off the person on the receiving end of your stupidity.

That person is going to pass off some of that anger later on. He may not go out and shoot someone, but he will find some way of blowing off steam, and maybe not in a healthy manner.

You may not feel the immediate effect, but you are adding to a society that is already swamped with tension.

So, be nice to people. Have a positive impact.

Don’t be a jerk unless you have good cause to, and even then consider your actions carefully.

And flush the damn toilet.

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Kevin Kirby is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Louisville. He has a B.A. in political science from the University of Wyoming.