There is no question that cell phones have made our lives easier. Besides the convenience factor, which is major, they have also improved our communication skills, if not in quality at least in quantity.

In business, they have increased communication and productivity, and in our personal lives, they have helped families and friends stay connected in ways none of us would have imagined just a few short years ago.

Cell phones have evolved from simple mobile telephones to communication devices capable of instant messaging, e-mailing, transmitting video images — both in still photos and video — global positioning, and who knows what else is out there? Best of all, they're relatively cheap so that almost everyone can easily own one.

One of my favorite stories about cell phones came during our coverage of the Peking to Paris Motor Challenge. Each day, Bill Erickson and his partner, Steve Dole, would call the newspaper from their cell phones, by the way, with daily updates on their progress across Asia and Europe.

Early on in their trip, while passing through Mongolia, Erickson described some of their encounters with the people there. Erickson said the average annual income was $150, yet every "gas station pump jockey" and even Mongolian shepherds on horseback had cell phones, many of them camera phones.

For all the good cell phones have brought into our lives, there has been a down side. Actually, there have been several down sides, depending on a person's perspective, but the most obvious is the decline in good manners. In the cell-phone culture, it is perfectly acceptable to take a phone call in the middle of a conversation, while standing in line anywhere, while walking down the street, while at the movie theater, doctor's office or even a funeral. In fact, there isn't any place it seems where it isn't acceptable to take a call.

Empowered with a cell phone, we've become more important than anybody or anything else. Even when politely asked to turn off their cell phones for a short period of time so as to not interrupt someone else, people won't do it. The ring tones of cell phones, which in and of themselves at times can be rude, punctuate every meeting, get-together, function, festival and social gathering.

Often, any attempt to silence the activity is met with, in its mildest form, a quick dismissal and, at the worst, scorn, ridicule and that most ancient form of communication: an obscene gesture.

The bad behavior is not limited to the younger generation. In fact, they can hardly be blamed for this phenomenon because they don't know better. Those who do know better, and they truly are the ones responsible, either have forgotten good manners or have forsaken them in favor of their own convenience and sense of self-importance. Either way, common courtesy is not something that should be sacrificed in the name of progress.

The most extreme case of this bad behavior is driving under the influence of cell phone. Who has not been cut off, blocked off, flipped off and generally honked off by motorists with their heads tilted at that all-too-familiar angle? It is an undeniable, indisputable fact that no one drives as well or better with a cell phone lodged to his ear. Yet, even with a mountain of supporting information, as well as a wide variety of hands-free devices available, the roadways remain clogged with motorists blithely chatting away with cell phones to their ears, oblivious to everything around them.

There ought to be a law and, fortunately, there is one in California that will go into effect July 1. The law prohibits the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving in the state. The law allows drivers to use hands-free devices, and there are exceptions for emergency purposes and some commercial vehicles. The penalty, however, lacks bite, mandating a $20 fine for the first offense and $50 for each subsequent offense.

Cell phones are not going to go away, and no one is suggesting they should, except for my ex-brother-in-law who lives in remote northwest Montana and believes they are the scourge of our time. Good manners are going away, and we all should be suggesting they shouldn't.

It seems a shame that we need legislation for something that could easily be remedied by the application of common sense. A good friend of mine has a favorite quotation that came from his father: "By your silence you will condone their action." Bad manners will only continue if we allow it. With all the communicating we're able to do, shouldn't some of it be directed toward that end?

— Joe R. Howry is editor of The Star. He can be reached by phone at 437-0200 or by e-mail at jhowry@VenturaCountyStar.com.