Return civility to our nation

Esther Tyson, Contributor

I have been increasingly struck by how uncivil a society Jamaica has become. This has come home to me in a very stark way after visiting various secondary schools over the past weeks.

The behaviour of many of the children is what we see adults display on the roads and in public places and, unfortunately, what we even observe in Parliament. The generally accepted conduct in schools seems to be: children shouting across the compound to each other; children speaking to each other on top of their voices, even when close by; anger being displayed at the slightest provocation; teachers endeavouring to be heard by these students, shouting at them over the noise.

In the classrooms, teachers spend at least 50 per cent of class time seeking to quiet groups of students who are intent on expressing to each other, at loud volumes, whatever thoughts come to their minds. There is very little learning that can take place in such an environment.

Acceptable crassness?

It seems that we have accepted that loudness, crassness and vulgarity are part of our national character. It seems that we have agreed that, as Jamaicans, we are not only to be known for our prowess on the track and court, our creativity in music and our penchant for double entendre, but we must also be characterised by our loudness and vulgarity in every sphere.

This lack of appreciation for what is considered well-mannered conduct was epitomised in the inauguration of the new prime minister. There, during the ceremony, were noisy supporters of the Jamaica Labour Party with their vuvuzelas and clangers which spoilt the formality of the occasion. The entire time, no one reminded these supporters that such behaviour was not suitable for the setting. Tolerating this type of behaviour simply reinforced to our nation that this type of conduct at a formal, official function had now become acceptable.

All around us we see adults behaving uncivilly, children in turn are imitating what they are hearing and seeing. We are a society made up of a large number of persons who tend to believe that rudeness is our right. For some persons, it means that we are indeed independent and strong; it means that no one can oppress us. For others, it means that we have thrown off our colonial shackles.

This general uncivil conduct needs to change. The many positive characteristics that we have as a people are being tarnished by the perception that, as Jamaicans, we are 'rude and out o' order'.

Learning from the Japanese

It has become an unpleasant experience to go into some public places and observe the loud and coarse conduct of our people. The English writer, Mary Wortley Montagu, notes: "Civility costs nothing, and buys everything." In a world where nations are becoming increasingly interdependent, it is necessary for us to realise that we will not attract tourists and investors to our shores with our uncivil conduct, adding to the other problems we already have as a nation.

Conducting business or seeking to relax among people whose behaviour is boorish is a very stressful and unpleasant experience. Therefore, persons will choose to do their business elsewhere and spend their vacation time in a more welcoming atmosphere. We need to realise, as Monatagu says, that "civility ... buys everything".

How many of us remember how the Japanese responded after the terrible earthquake that they experienced? Persons had lost their homes, their loved ones, and had to be sleeping in shelters. There were scarce resources being distributed, and these Japanese stood up patiently waiting in the lines to receive their meagre allowance of food. No one was shoving or screaming at each other.

How many of us remember the stories of money being found in one community and being turned over to the authorities so that it could be returned to its rightful owners? Such levels of civility and kindness had the world looking on the Japanese with admiration and envy. We in Jamaica would do well to practise even a small percentage of such a level of civility. Can you imagine the difference it would make to our nation? We need to bring back civility to our culture.

Reteaching respect in society

We need to start again to teach courtesy and good manners in homes, schools and churches. We must teach our people to show respect to older persons, to those in authority and to each other generally. We need to reintroduce habits which we grew up with as children, such as when you enter a room you greet the persons there. As Miss Lou says, "Howdy an tenky bruck no square." We need to teach our children the common courtesies such as 'thank you', 'you are welcome', 'excuse me' and other such mannerly behaviour.

In our schools, students and teachers need to understand that shouting and screaming belong on the playing field when matches are under way; that behaviour does not belong in the classroom or on the corridors, and certainly not at corporate gatherings.

When we, as adults, remain quiet when our children behave in this way, whether because of fear or because we can't be bothered, we are simply reinforcing the negative conduct. This behaviour takes on a life of its own and it gets completely out of control. We then find ourselves overwhelmed by this crudeness and vulgarity and we then begin to wonder how we have got to this place.

I appreciate our resilience as a people. We have strength and determination. Our resilience is shown in our humour. Who can forget Lovindeer's Wild Gilbert after Hurricane Gilbert devastated Jamaica in 1988? That song characterised the ability of Jamaicans to take the worst situation and get humour out of it. We need to add to that the ability to be kind and courteous to each other, even in the most trying situations.

Esther Tyson is an educator. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.