I felt sorry for the group cleaning the platform today morning. There were a few senior citizens. Some of them were carrying boards urging people to keep the surroundings clean. It didn't look like they had been forced to be there. They were there because they genuinely believed that they were making a difference and that's precisely why I felt sorry for them.
You might think I am being cynical. But anyone who day after day sees her fellow commuters litter, sneeze and cough practically in other people's faces is sooner or later bound to be so. What difference is one day's cleaning going to do? People seem shocked when educated people litter. And I am surprised at that. In this country being educated means learning science, maths, history and geography by heart. Civics is just one of the subjects where you learn by rote the boring details about the responsibilities of the members of the houses of parliament and yet, years later, cannot figure out what exactly an MLA is supposed to do. Being educated has absolutely, I repeat, absolutely, nothing to do with having a civic sense. What's worse is that some of these so-called educated people point fingers at the uneducated lot and say that when they are throwing garbage around, what difference does it make if we don't. A twisted case of 'When you are in Rome....', huh?
Maybe we are going about it in the wrong way. We have to begin by cleaning up the neighborhoods, the residential areas - not just for a day, but for every day of the week, week after week, year after year. When people get used to clean surroundings, they will automatically get used to not littering - in their neighborhood and in other places. Plus we have to make sure that these lessons are imparted in schools. The children should be taken on cleanliness drives of their neighborhoods where they can urge other people to keep the area clean. They should also be encouraged to practice the same at home. We have to make sure that the children teach their parents because teaching parents isn't helping. And finally, we have to hit those who litter where it hurts the most - on the financial front. A hefty fine and community service of cleaning should prove to be an ample deterrent.
We have to aim for the day when cleanliness becomes part of our collective national personality, and not just a word in the some 'Quotable Quote'.
You might think I am being cynical. But anyone who day after day sees her fellow commuters litter, sneeze and cough practically in other people's faces is sooner or later bound to be so. What difference is one day's cleaning going to do? People seem shocked when educated people litter. And I am surprised at that. In this country being educated means learning science, maths, history and geography by heart. Civics is just one of the subjects where you learn by rote the boring details about the responsibilities of the members of the houses of parliament and yet, years later, cannot figure out what exactly an MLA is supposed to do. Being educated has absolutely, I repeat, absolutely, nothing to do with having a civic sense. What's worse is that some of these so-called educated people point fingers at the uneducated lot and say that when they are throwing garbage around, what difference does it make if we don't. A twisted case of 'When you are in Rome....', huh?
Maybe we are going about it in the wrong way. We have to begin by cleaning up the neighborhoods, the residential areas - not just for a day, but for every day of the week, week after week, year after year. When people get used to clean surroundings, they will automatically get used to not littering - in their neighborhood and in other places. Plus we have to make sure that these lessons are imparted in schools. The children should be taken on cleanliness drives of their neighborhoods where they can urge other people to keep the area clean. They should also be encouraged to practice the same at home. We have to make sure that the children teach their parents because teaching parents isn't helping. And finally, we have to hit those who litter where it hurts the most - on the financial front. A hefty fine and community service of cleaning should prove to be an ample deterrent.
We have to aim for the day when cleanliness becomes part of our collective national personality, and not just a word in the some 'Quotable Quote'.
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