A certain amount of us can relate to childhood and adolescent lessons we may have carried forward into our adult years. A few important axioms are to respect our elders, we have to earn respect, it isn’t just given, and to earn respect first we have to give it.
We all want to live in a clean community, a good community and our community, like the world, has been around for a lot longer than we have. I’m sure we can all agree we want respect from the world we live in, yet it becomes a trivial expectation when we don’t give the world the respect it deserves. Perhaps it’s a fair argument to say we are all entitled to live in safe, clean and prosperous environments, neighbourhoods, communities and cultures, yet what are these communities made up of if they are not made up of people? By seeing the forest for the trees we begin to notice everything in the environment is dependent on individuals.
So, are we a part of the problem or are we a part of the solution?
In the 2016 budget for the City of North Battleford, which is made public for anyone to read on the City website, an excellent message from City Manager James Puffalt opens the document. In it, a term is used in quotations. This interesting term is the “broken window” syndrome. Puffalt assures this syndrome will not be evident in any of the City’s operations or facilities. We can feel safe in knowing our expectations are being managed accordingly.
So, what simple thing can we do to align ourselves with city management?
It’s very easy to respect our city, to respect any city or community. Often this respect is reciprocated and given back to us. We can as individuals do the smallest things to enhance the appearance of our community.
To avoid the broken window syndrome we may do something as little as not throwing our garbage onto the ground. It’s a simple place to start. It’s easy and it shows a huge amount of respect. For a second, imagine what it would be like if every single piece of garbage we littered magically appeared in our living rooms. I for one would be disappointed having to paddle from the TV to the refrigerator through a chest-high pile of garbage. This visual helps keep me from littering. Why ruin our public spaces for everyone else? No one comes into our living rooms and throws trash around. And if they did, would they not soon be put on the non-invite list?
So, how does this relate to the broken window syndrome?
The syndrome comes from the idea if a building has broken windows more windows will be broken. There is a norm-setting and signaling effect. This means, based on this theory, if we have an environment full of litter, people will be more likely to follow suit and litter themselves.
The idea of expectations versus actions reminds me of a peculiar story. I was once in a vehicle with a person complaining about how dirty a city was, at the same time taking wrappers from various items and throwing them out the window. As human beings we’re not perfect, let’s admit it, so often we become the pot calling the kettle black. It’s often difficult to practice what we preach.
In conclusion, if we all want the world to get better, we’re all going to have to live up to our own expectations. Not being a litterbug is probably the easiest place to start. Instead of putting it on the ground we can put it in the nearest garbage can. It’s the most laid-back way to show respect to our environment, to our public spaces, to ourselves and to the people we share those public spaces with. It increases the appearance of our community and of individuals. Plus, once you start small eventually it becomes easier to do the bigger things.
