1. There are a million more reasons why the west is going down than politeness.
People from corrupt and coarse backgrounds, cultures, and societies often mistake courtesy for weakness when in fact it is meekness.
Meekness is strength restrained.
I'm certain that Samson was a nice enough guy at some point. Yet he wasn't quite so polite when he picked up a donkey's jawbone and then used it to beat ten thousand Philistines to death.
They mistook his good manners for weakness. That was their last mistake.