Decorum( or the lack thereof)

In case you didn't hear, there was a recent flap( no pun intended!) that arose when the Women's Nat'l Champion Lacrosse Team was invited to the White House to meet the president and have a photo taken, and some of the women decided to wear flip flops for the occassion. Granted, there were only a few of them, but to me, a few is too many. The White House is no place for flip flops, or any ultra casual attire, unless the president is throwing a ' dress down Friday' type of affair, and casual is called for. Some have said that the flip flop incident is being blown way out of proportion, that it was no big deal, and besides, some of those flip flops were really pretty, and may have been expensive to boot! So what? The price of the flop, or it's prettines is irrelevent; certain times call for certain dress, and when meeting the president(whether you like him or not), you should dress according to the occassion and the office. One woman defended her choice of flip flops, stating that she wanted to be comfortable; sorry, but that doesn't fly. There are plenty of dressier shoes that are comfortable, and besides, she was having a photo taken, not running a marathon, or playing a game of Lacrosse on the lawn. Please.
Yes, I know that there are more pressing issues in the world to worry about these days, but how good can it be overall if we keep excusing a lack of basic manners and decorum because these actions are seemingly inconsequential? Isn't one of the foundations for a good society the teaching of the 'liitle' things, the teaching of manners, respect for a person's office and position, the doing of the right thing even if we have to endure perhaps a brief bit of slight discomfort to achieve it? Is it so wrong to take the time to teach children ( or anyone, for that matter, as we are never to old to learn) that gym shorts and belly shirts aren't acceptable for court or job interviews, that you answer with a Yes or No, not a Yup or Nope when being adressed by an authority figure or one who , by virtue of his/her postion commands respect, and that you simply show basic respect, even if you may not agree with the person to whom you are giving it to?
Are these things really so hard to teach and achieve, or have we just become too apathetic?