Importance of having civic Sense
“We are living in a society hence we need to act as per the social order & social morality”
As ultimately
“No man is an Island, we need to live in society & we need to act as per the social expectations”
However the social expectations here which we are referring to are not personal life choices such as marriage etc but the basic manners that are expected in society.
What is Civic Sense?
Civic sense isn’t defined in any particular definition however civic sense is broadly understood to mean “to act with decency in presence of others so the other person doesn’t feel disgusted by your actions”
For an example,
“If someone is putting his fingers in nose then he touches other people or things without washing his hands , any ordinary person with civic sense would feel highly disgusted.
This is a common day in most of the developing countries , it may be present in developed countries too. But such things should be eradicated. As definitely any person with senses would feel highly disgusted by seeing such acts.
The reasoning in support for it maybe given as “any person may suddenly feel irritation or uneasy in nose so he has to do it”
Well yes that’s understandable but then cleaning the hands with sanitizer or water is also the duty of such a person before he touches any other things.
Legal issues connected with Civic Sense
Legally speaking all people have personal Liberty & they can put their finger in their nose or ears etc as they need. So suppose any law is introduced to curtail such behaviour in public it’s difficult for it to stand.
However having said that if law requires cleaning hands with water , sanitizers etc in such a case then it won’t be violating personal liberty. Personal liberty does give the freedom to do such things but certainly the state can mandate public etiquettes & behaviour.
However, being practical will any parliament ever introduce such laws?
Ofcourse not.
But the question is whether they should?
Certainly why not?
What’s wrong in that, as ultimately it’s related to improving public health. And it should not be forgotten that improvement of public health is a fundamental duty of any government.
However many things in civic sense don’t face legal challenge
Suppose Rash driving, exceeding speed limits , not allowing bus passengers to get down at bus stop & riding motorbike through the thin narrow gaps & many more things can easily be included in legislation. As a matter of fact most of such things are already included in laws but violation is frequent especially in developing countries.
So what’s needed then?
Strict implementation of Law
Which is possible only with Strong Determination & Will of the government.
Major civic Sense issues
Putting Fingers in Nose
Most people when outside put their fingers in the nose & then without washing it touch other things now any person with civic sense feels disgusted by it. And after putting the fingers in the nose such people touch other things without washing their hands, so just imagine any person with civic sense standing there feels so much disgusted by it. At least this much level of civic sense is needed; these are the basic mannerisms to act in the public. The only way such problems can be solved is by making the people aware through the advertising awareness campaigns. It is not only the people who are less educated who are doing such things but even people with higher education and working on very high post tend to do this as off nothing had happened.
Sneezing without covering nose
many people sneeze without covering their nose & it looks very disgusting. Often the drops of the sneezing falls on other people & it’s a very ugly feeling to have. This is also a major issue in the public because on the streets or in public transportation etc there are many people who sneeze and they don’t even cover their nose while sneezing and the drop of the sneeze falls on the other people and the other people feel disgusted.
Driving & Riding In Rush
One of the biggest problems is that many people drive their vehicles at very high speeds. For example, if you look at the situation in the metro cities of India the bike riders ride their bike even on footpaths.
Even when the people are getting down from the bus and there is a narrow margin between the bus and the bus stop the bike riders still don’t wait for the passenger to get down and keep riding the bike in the narrow space.
In the rainy season some people while driving cars intentionally drive fast where water accumulates on the streets so that water falls on people walking on the street . All of this is done for sadistic joy.
Throwing burning Firecrackers in Air
This is one of the worst problems that has developed in the recent past, especially the last two decades. Now people while celebrating their festivals throw burning Firecrackers in the air & even on other people’s bodies to get sadistic fun.
Such types of things are present in many parts of India and it is very dangerous.
Talking Loudly
some people talk too loudly on streets or in public transportation etc that becomes very disturbing for others.
Toilet in Public
This problem has two sides, one big failure is governance. The governments till this day haven’t been able to provide toilets to each home for people belonging to poor financial backgrounds.
Public toilets aren’t clean so people do toilets in public. However some people use toilets in public even when they have good clean toilets available especially in rural areas.
Loud Music
while celebrating festivals many people play music very loudly which is very annoying for others.
Removing Bike Silencer
Some people remove motorbike silencers & the sound becomes very annoying & irritating.
The license of such bike riders should be permanently suspended with heavy fine & such motorbike should be ceased. In case of repeated offence there should be penal provisions.
Other things:-
Over & above the major things which we discussed there can be many more & maybe innumerable things which may be added in Civic Sense list.
However every single thing is not possible nor feasible to work on. Major things can be covered, such things should be decided by process of dialogue & discussion. Certainly some more issues may come up which may be major & after due deliberation & discussion such things may be added.
Solutions on how to improve
Awareness campaigns:-
The major solution for this problem of improving the civic sense is awareness campaigns. People should be made aware of civic sense .
Education:- Education about civic sense should be given from school. It should also be included in induction & training programs of private or government jobs.
Legislation:- It’s obvious that just by public awareness and education the problem of civic sense is not going to improve especially in developing countries like India. And that’s why the government should introduce legislation for providing protection against the violation of the civic sense.
CCTV surveillance:- There should be white spread CCTV surveillance for observing the violation of the civic sense. Obviously even after that completely it’s not possible to monitor but at least it can be curtailed.
Task force:- The government needs to appoint a specialised task force for observing & monitoring violations of civic sense. Yes there is a misuse possible hence such task force must have video evidence before imposing fine on someone.
Sanitizers:- The government need to distribute sanitizer free of cost & also have sanitizers in public transportation, government offices. Private employers should also have it. The frequent cleaning hands with sanitizer should be encountered and made compulsory.
Such things will go a long way to control civic sense issues related to ugly hands , frequently putting fingers in nose etc
Conclusion
In this essay we first studied what individual freedom & how it should relate to social order. Individual freedom must be in line with social order. Social order can’t exist without civic sense, hence civic sense needs to be firmly established.
Awareness campaigns, education, suitable legislation, surveillance, special task force all are needed to improve the civic sense.
But before we proceed, what’s civic sense? That needs to be defined , as such the general understanding for civic sense is understood as “living with such manners in presence of other person that the senses of others don’t get disgusted” However, what’s civic sense for one may not be for others so that’s why things need to be more defined.
However every minute things may never be able to be added but major things can be certainly narrowed down. We did discuss such major things in the essay & also discussed the possible solutions for it. We also saw the legal aspects associated with civic sense & possible solutions.
We also saw some of the things like cleaning nose & then not washing hands etc has legal challenges if any law is introduced. And we also saw how such challenges are removed & still law curtailing be implemented.
We also know the bitter truth: it will never be implemented by any parliament. However we as society can work together to bring such discipline & improve such hygiene. Recently one video went viral in Kerala where an old lady stood in front of one bike rider who was riding on a footpath. That lady was honoured by traffic police. We need more efforts like this to remove such issues.
We all need to realise at end of the day that “our personal liberty should not infringe others liberty, in matters of Hygiene we have a greater social responsibility than just speaking about our personal liberty”
We hope that “better sense prevail in all of us so we don’t do things which are repugnant to others senses , as the way our senses are important others senses are equally important & indeed that’s the way to go”
By: AMIT LAXMICHAND GALA
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