I do not believe “Respect for others is getting rare, not necessarily gone, but getting very rare. At least around my neck of the woods.” , the reason (at least around me) is no one takes the first step…..talking. I fly just about everything I can, 3d, sports flying, pattern/imac, combat, experimental aircraft, I help train new pilots, ect. The first thing I did when I went to my field is just started talking with everyone, introduce yourself, make friends, always help out, admit your mistakes, and just be fun to fly with. Communication is the key, so many people show up to my field, never say a word to anyone else, fly, packup and go home, those tend to be the guys that get frustrated. Everyone I talk too, even if they don’t agree with me, know that I will offer them respect if they do the same. When I am flying 3d I let other pilots know that if they want to make a few passes over the runway to just call it out, I will get out of the way. That being said if everyone is flying the pattern I choose to fly another…non 3d… plane until things calm down.
All it takes is talking, helping people out, and some respect. Follow those and most people will not give you crap unless your deserve it.