Fighting an uncivil war to save society

It starts with an unthinking act of selfishness, becomes rudeness, and before you can say 'I'm all right Jack', civilisation as we know it is threatened.

Each morning the scene is the same. The bus I catch is packed with schoolgirls. Since they have boarded earlier they have taken the seats. Their bags clog the aisles and the adults who catch the bus at later stops inevitably have to stand as the bus winds its way towards the city.

Last week, however, something changed. The bus driver asked the schoolgirls to give up their seats for the older passengers. The woman next to me turned and said: 'That is the first time I've ever heard anyone say that.' Later she admitted that she had never actually thought of asking the schoolgirls to vacate a seat or move their bags.

The schoolchildren are pleasant and for the most part well-behaved young girls, but their behaviour lacks something–civility. Civility is the virtue that helps to maintain order in society. it means showing a consideration for others in the community oftentimes at the expense of your own self interest.

And it is not just on my bus that I notice a lack of civility. Society is riddled with it.

Consider the person at the cafe who talks so loudly on their mobile phone as to disturb everyone's meals. Or the person at the beach who keeps using profanity in earshot of young children. Not to mention the person who jumps the queue in which you have been waiting patiently.

Does any of this mattee US social scientists James Wilson and George Kelling have been arguing since 1982 that community disorder is a breeding ground for crime.

They use the analogy of a broken window–if a broken window in a building is not repaired then the other windows will soon be broken too because people get the impression that nobody cares. Likewise, if uncivil behaviour is left unchecked, community controls will begin to break down, and the quality of life will soon falter.

No one is saying that the student who neglects to give up her seat is going to turn into a criminal. But a decline in civility makes way for larger acts of incivility. If civility is a sign of social order then high levels of incivility indicate a lack of order an ideal environment for crime to flourish.

Community involvement is the key. The police have a crucial role but we also need to do something ourselves if civil liberties are not to be lost during the regaining of civility.

In 1791 philosopher Edmund Burke argued: 'men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites'.

When we neglect to accept our responsibility to society, there is little option but to accept increased enforcement from officials.

When the woman next to me on the bus said she had never asked a child to move their schoolbag, it struck me this was part of the problem. Not only have we neglected to accept our responsibilities, we are now fearful of ever trying to mention these to others.

What strides can we make towards a more civil society with less need for government control if we are unable to assert a standard of accepted behaviour on our own?

The starting point must lie in the little interactions each day.We should encourage civil behaviour, making sure that our thanks are heard. We should not be afraid to ask someone to give up their seat or move their bag or to ask the person at the beach to refrain from swearing.

And if you are next to the person objecting to the profanity, show your support to demonstrate it is not the request of a reactionary trying to encroach on freedom but a move to ensure freedom by restoring civility.

 

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About the Author:
Nicole Billante is a social foundations researcher at The Centre for Independent Studies.