I can't imagine anybody (other than lawyers) liking those annoying attorney commercials on TV. Even the man from U.N.C.L.E., Robert Vaughn, hawks legal services. Times must be tough for an aging man from U.N.C.L.E.

Back in 2002, I was interviewing Curtis Farr, an attorney down in Douglas, Georgia, for a book on the history of Worker's Comp in Georgia. Farr told me he hated the day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that attorneys could advertise services on TV. "If you treated people right, they'd bring their neighbors and friends to you. Now, by God, they don't do it," said Farr. "They see the latest commercial and that's who they go call. It's the worst decision the Supreme Court of the United States ever made affecting law practice in my opinion."

Farr was talking about how attorneys get business, of course, but a deeper issue exists here. Right and wrong are a commodity now. That's why you see attorneys on TV acting like car salesmen peddling fear and intimidation and the lure of wealth. The law should be a dignified profession. Thanks to the law, distinguished Latin phrases such as habeas corpus and bona fide have entered our language. Judges wear black robes and preside over all the formality and protocol that attend trials. Letting attorneys advertise on TV undercuts all that.

Let's say you're to appear in court tomorrow and there's your attorney on TV shouting like a desperate used car salesman. And what is he promoting? None other than a class action lawsuit against a hemorrhoid ointment manufacturer. But a truly serious issue is at stake here.

I read recently where an elected official in Tennessee wants legislation passed that bans ads from attorneys who specialize in getting folks charged with a DUI off the hook. The provision prohibits attorneys from advertising a guaranteed favorable judgment. Now that's a good law.

But let's not blame attorneys for our declining values. We've been on this slippery slope a long time. Pride and dignity rightfully start with your self-perception, which leads to how you want others to perceive you. I remember when the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. In the space of an hour, barbers throughout America were in for hard times and a cultural shift was underway. I got into the act and tried to grow my hair long. I didn't get far. One day, my dad, an Army veteran, told me to get in the car. The next thing I knew I was sitting in a chair in my Great Uncle Waymom Walker's barbershop. Dad said just one thing: "Cut it all off."

A Beatle haircut is nothing these days. If you've read my columns, you know where I stand when it comes to tattoos, body piercing, and grubby looks. We've lost our grip on a polished approach to life. Don't believe me? People don't dress up for church on Sundays like they used to, do they.

What happened to pride and dignity? To me it's simple. All the World War II dads are disappearing. A few years back, my daughter was dating a fellow who was 26. I noticed that unlike most young men, he wore no earrings. I said, "Steve, why don't you wear earrings like other guys your age?" His answer was quick and earnest. "Mr. Tom, my dad would slap them off me if I did." His dad had served in the Navy.

The disciplined men who went off to World War II knew what dignity and pride were and they did their best to pass them along. Tom Brokaw in The Greatest Generation wrote that America is filled with thousands of gray-haired heroes who "answered the call to save the world from the two most powerful and ruthless military machines ever assembled. They are the men and women who came of age during the Great Depression and World War II, and went on to build modern America."

Brokaw's right. These men came back determined to make our country better. They sent their kids to college, knowing the value of discipline and preparation. Somewhere down the line, though, we strayed from those ideals. Maybe it started with long hair, hippies, and the idea that everyone is entitled to privileges without having to earn them.

Over in Gainesville there's a fine attorney, Joe Sartain. He told me that lawyers who advertise on TV hurt the image of all attorneys. Fuel for the fire, you could say. It's common knowledge that many people don't care for attorneys, but this disdain is nothing new. In King Henry VI, Shakespeare wrote his most famous quote: "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." I say spare the lawyers. Just kill their ads and restore some pride and dignity to the profession. Maybe it'll prove contagious to others.

Email Tom with feedback and ideas for new columns. tompol@ earthlink.net