The Tribune

“CLEANLINESS and order are not matters of instinct; they are matters of education, and like most great things, you must cultivate a taste for them.” – Benjamin Disraeli.

A friend in his late 60s recalls walking along Market Street and coming upon a teenage boy around the age of 13, who was sitting in a car eating guineps, discarding the seeds and shells onto the road, even though there were several garbage bins within easy reach.

The older man gently upbraided the teenager, who responded with an expletive that rhymes with truck followed by – in this instance – the very personal pronoun, “you”. The friend was disturbed, but not shocked.

Why would a young teen eat guineps and then casually and nastily discard the remains of the fruit in a public area close to Bay Street, so heavily trafficked by Bahamians and tourists?

Why was he unable to see that he was disrespecting himself, others and the environment? And why did he deem it okay to be crude and disrespectful to someone old enough to be his father? Where did he learn such behaviour at such a young age? How many of our young people are similarly minded?

Another dear friend, who owns a retail store situated on well-kept and clean premises, describes how a few weeks ago a female client came to purchase a number of products. The driver of the car, a man in his mid-40s, remained in the automobile eating his lunch.

When he was finished he opened the car door and raked the remainder of the food from his Tupperware onto the open, spotless paved parking lot near the entrance to the store. A few steps away was a garbage bin into which he could have easily deposited the leftovers.

The teenager and the older man both were in eyesight of garbage receptacles. What level of sloth, nastiness and indifference must one have to mindlessly throw food waste out of a car, much less on an open space in public in broad daylight?

The filthy habits of many are an old story. But it continues to worsen as our standards continue to decline. And we have become even more bellicose and defensive if someone seeks to correct our behaviour.

We are more prone to engage in such behaviour in The Bahamas because we know there are few to no consequences. How did we get like this?

A colleague, who once served as a teacher in the government-operated school system, remembers that in the 1970s, she could easily part fighting students or correct someone using abusive language.

Unacceptable

Knowing that their behaviour was incorrect and unacceptable, a young person might have responded, “Sorry, Sir” or “Sorry, Ma’am”. Today, such an intervention might spark retaliation. Why have so many become so violent and retaliatory?

Moreover and worrying: many young people and adults no longer see their behaviour as wrong or unacceptable. Many are as lacking in basic civility as they are in basic ethical norms.

Low and poor standards and behaviour are now normative. Many no longer recognise that there is a problem. One has to first recognise that one is sitting atop a trash heap before realising that something must be done to clean up one’s surroundings.

We have become so inured to disorder and incivility that it is background noise, like the mostly young men who regularly terrorise other motorists, homeowners and business establishments with their over-revved and noisy motorcycles, including on Sundays.

During a meal outside at the popular and well-appointed Café Johnny Canoe in Cable Beach, this columnist watched as a group of four young Bahamians in their early 20s pulled up to the entrance of the restaurant on the ubiquitous silver scooters that may be rented for dashes around various areas.

The leader of the pack, parked his scooter directly in front of the main entrance, blocking the entryway. The other three, which included another male and two females, followed suit.

The Bahamians and tourists on the outside looked on curiously, with annoyance, and with civic disgust. Thankfully, the other young man in the group was prevailed upon to move the scooters from the entryway. He recognised that their behaviour was inappropriate and did not make a fuss.

The parking of the scooters in the entryway and the discarding of the guineps and food, constitute more than self-absorption. It is an arrogant disregard for civility, for respect for others and for basic order. It is a lack of ethical consideration on many levels, including adherence to social and civic values which bind a well-ordered society.

Despite our heavily Christianised public performances, replete with utterances of God’s goodness, cross-wearing, and loud proclamations of faith, many of us still blatantly disregard the elemental belief that “cleanliness is next to godliness”.

One of Methodism’s founders, John Wesley, may have been the originator of the admonition we know today, though there may have been an earlier provenance of the aphorism.

Cleanliness

Wesley often spoke of cleanliness: “Let it be observed, that Slovenliness is no part of Religion: that neither this, nor any text of Scripture, condemns neatness of ap-parel: certainly this is a duty: not a sin: ‘Cleanliness is, indeed, next to godliness.’ “

If this mantra has any ethical and spiritual resonance and relevance, we are far from godly because of the widespread despoiling of our environment with trash breezily deposited on our highways and in bushes used as dumping grounds.

All over New Providence, fast food packing and foodstuff and discarded tins and bottles help to fuel our rodent infestation. But most seem not care. We like it so!

Bahamians happily take wedding, birthday and other photos in beautifully landscaped areas such as the Cable Beach area near Baha Mar. They delight in the manicured flora. Yet, some throw garbage in the ponds not far from where they take photos. We flock to public beaches and leave them looking like wastelands.

Along the derelict and mostly shabby portion of East Bay Street – minutes from the heart of Bay Street, including the Cabinet Office, the Houses of Parliament, and the Nassau Cruise Port at Prince George Wharf – there are idle rows of dingy and dilapidated buildings, a perennial eyesore for some Bahamians and many visitors.

On this mini-patch of urban wasteland, in the centre of the City of Nassau, some of the most prime and expensive real estate on New Providence, reside defunct buildings, desperately, hopelessly, waiting for dismantling or renewal, neither of which is imminent.

Some years ago, observant motorists may have noticed a crumbling wall on an upper floor from which hung a dangling toilet. The toilet remained in full view of thousands of motorists, including public officials, for many months. Why did it take so long for the toilet to be covered?

Likely, for many, they did not see it. Others who saw it may have simply ignored the porcelain eyesore. For many others, it made no difference. It was simply a part of the grimy and grungy landscape to which we are accustomed. We like it so!

Imagine the scores of tourists who must have wondered how a destination that claims to be one of the most pristine and beautiful places on earth could have a toilet exposed in its main downtown area for the world to see. What lovely Bahamian pride! Cue theme song: “It’s better in The Bahamas … ooh la la la, ooh la la…”

On University Drive, not far from the Police College, there is a series of metal barriers atop a ridge to protect motorists from falling into the ravine below. Sections of the barrier have been replaced a number of times because of accidents.

Unsightly

But it is amazing how long it can take for the unsightly damaged barrier to be repaired. After the most recent repair, a mangled damaged portion of the barrier was simply dumped next to the new barrier. It has sat there for endless months. Few even notice it. Few perhaps care. We like it so.

Is it any wonder that someone thought it acceptable to begin a business with swimming pigs on a beach in Adelaide without permission or regard for the residents and businesses in the area?

When standards atrophy, many, if not most things, are acceptable. Gradually, there are no standards by which to measure good order and civility. Many come not to know any better, like that 13-year-old boy with his guineps. This is the “standard” that he may know.

Governments have the responsibility to enforce basic cleanliness, decency and civility, something at which we often fail. Still, it remains the primary responsibility of other civilizing institutions, especially the family, to teach basic cleanliness and respect.

Must it be the role of government to tell citizens not to defecate or urinate in public? A former senior director at Environmental Health has recited to this columnist the many challenges he had in his long and distinguished career to promote a cleaner and environmentally healthier Bahamas.

It is going to take, if it is possible, extraordinary re-education and much greater enforcement to even begin to address the cultural mindsets and habits to which many are happily and slothfully accustomed.

The former official would agree with British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881): “Cleanliness and order are not matters of instinct; they are matters of education, and like most great things, you must cultivate a taste for them.”

Most of us used to have a cultivated taste for cleanliness and order. But today, fewer and fewer Bahamians enjoy such a taste. Our poor and unhealthy diets are sadly not confined to food. We have also greedily cultivated a taste for an innutritious diet of disorder, disrespect and dirty public spaces. We like it so!