I was raised to use those words and the yes or no ma'm or sir in particular to those older than me and as a sign of respect to others. While I believe in good manners, it appears our nation has gone overboard in some areas of good behaviour.
Some people call it being politically correct.
I'm sure most people have heard of bills in Congress about telling some group the government is sorry, etc. In 1993, Congress apologized for the U.S. overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893. Two years later, President Clinton apologized for the secret radiation tests performed on Americans durng the cold war and the Southern Baptists admitted their complicity in American slavery and segregation and formally exprssed their sorrow over it. This year, Prsident Clinton aplogized to the victims of the Tuskegee syphilis tests and Great Britain's prime minister, Tony Blair, apologized to the Irish people for British involvement in Ireland's great famine of 1845-1850. I believe you get the idea.