Recently, I was surprised to find barely an empty seat at a weekend showing of Pride & Prejudice, the latest film interpretation of Jane Austen’s 1813 novel. Scattered around the packed theatre were women and men, couples of all ages, singles in their 70s, and 20-somethings. For 126 minutes, a rapt audience smiled and sighed and seemed reluctant to leave as the credits rolled.

Back then, the hemlines were long and concealing. These days, with thighs and midriffs exposed, not to mention pregnant bellies hanging out like kangaroo pouches, and “come and get it” boots luring, it’s often difficult to tell who’s a hooker—and who’s a socialite.

In Georgian England, people gathered in drawing rooms (not in online salons), and took the time to write copious letters (instead of keyboarding blogs and e-mails and dialing up for quickie phone sex). The delivery of a penned missive brought a room to attention, and people enjoyed spending quality time together—exchanging witticisms, or playing musical instruments and board games—with nary a video game or cell phone in sight or sound (remember what that was like?).

In the film, when 15-year-old Lydia Bennet “runs away” with a handsome soldier, propriety-conscious people rapidly intervene to ensure she comes home a newlywed—not a new mother. Today, a steady stream of celebrity couples—Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster, Seal and Heidi Klum, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin (even The Donald and second wife, Marla Maples!) have announced pregnancies before walking down the aisle. The only Scarlet Letter “A” on anyone’s chest, these days, stands for A-list. And the demand for these celebs on red carpets and at charity benefits continues to rise—along with their notoriety… not to mention the “if you’re indicted, you’re invited” mentality.

Yes, we’ve come a long way (baby!) from those simpler times. “Having prospects” today means more than just sitting at home in a drawing room, waiting for a suitor with 5,000-10,000 pounds a year to come calling for your hand. While fortune-hunting, gossip-hungry mothers still prowl society ballrooms, ever-alert to wealthy suitors for their daughters, many eligible young women already have their own six-figure careers, or inheritances.

Reconsider the opening lines of the novel and film: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” Surely, this truism is as accurate today, as it was back then. Even George W. Bush hightailed it over to his friends’ backyard barbecue in Midland, TX, one summer afternoon in 1977, when he was called and told that there was someone there whom he might want to meet. Just over three months later, he married that someone—Laura Welch.

Right now, there’s a great deal of “pride and prejudice” in Washington, D.C. Our elected officials have been too proud to admit their errors in judgment and too prejudiced to engage in true bi-partisan solutions to crucial issues—terrorism, homeland security, health care, global warming, energy sufficiency, poverty, genocide.

It’s time to plan realistically for the future. Whether we’re discussing an Exit Plan or a Strategy for Victory in Iraq, we all want the same thing—our troops home ASAP, with a stable Iraq left behind, to make the sacrifice mean something.

It’s probably not that surprising, after all, that screenings of Pride & Prejudice have been filled to capacity. Just consider the growing list of who’s been naughty, not nice. Weekly, it seems like there are new revelations about the ongoing investigations and indictments of government officials for ethical abuses. This endless downward spiral of social mores leaves everyone yearning for better days past—when values, morals, and propriety were the norm.

Perhaps we all need a little more Pride & Prejudice in our daily lives and a little less pride and prejudice in our thoughts and actions. Oh, Mr. Darcy! Where are you when we need you? If only you could leave the cineplex and ride your steed, cape flying, into the Capitol.

As we enter the holiday social season, let’s write that extra check for hurricane relief, clean out our closets and donate the excess luxury goods from too many designer goodie bags. Let’s take the time to write to our elected officials and express our concerns about current policies and moral lapses. Let’s get back in touch with the values of way back then, while still forging ahead.