What part of DO NOT LITTER don't you understand?

I was waiting for an auto right outside office. I saw a man- around 24 years of age- walking towards the shop where I stood. My quick impression about him- good looking, sophisticated and seemed well educated. With a ciggy in one hand, he was engrossed in a phone conversation with someone. I must say, he had quite an impressive way of talking. I saw him ask the shop guy ' Bhaiyya, ek chewing gum '. I saw him tender the exact change. Then... He disposed off his cigarette, tore the chewing gum wrapper away and carelessly threw the wrapper on the road.

END OF STORY!


In spite of a dustbin being right there, that man did not bother to throw the wrapper inside the bin. Somepeople may not find anything unusual in what he did. But for me, my impression about him completely changed. 'I dont care' act of throwing away the chewing gum wrapper was a big NO NO to me. Pure irritation is what I felt when he did that. It might just be a small piece of wrapper that he threw, but it's still TRASH. Irrespective of whether it is an empty can of coke or a small piece of tissue, Trash is Trash.

Sometimes your very own friends who are as educated as you are, who talk about philosophies and ethics...Such sophisticated people are also among those who litter our roads and footpaths. It's not just the pan eating common man who spit and throw garbage on the road. Our so called 'High class' people dont mind rolling down their windows and disposing their empty bottle of aquafina right in the middle of a national high way ( Mind you! It does not happen only in ads, it happens in real).

I can bet that the very same people will never do such a thing in a foreign country. Just because there no punishment here, it does that give you the right to throw wherever and whatever? Is it really that hard to find a bin and dispose it appropriately? It definitely is not. If you cannot do something as simple as this, you have no right to complain about the roads and footpaths being dirty.

Upsurge

After having watched an entire day of coverage of anti corruption movement , I logged into facebook to check what was happening. I was surprised to see that almost all status messages were about the jan lokpal bill and anna hazare's fast unto death. Very strong messages abusing politicians, supporting the jan lokpal bill and slogans about corrupt free India. My question was, why has everybody become an activist all of sudden? Where were all these anti corruption messages when the scams broke out?

For all those people who posted slogans about the Jan lokpal bill, my question to them-

1 have you even bothered to read the provisions in the bill?

2. Do you even know what the bill is all about?

3. Do you know the differences between the government version of same bill and the Jan lokpal bill which is being demanded?

The problem with my generation or the youth is the instant knee jerk reactions. There was a euphoria among people about this mass movement. For some people, it was mostly follow the crowd mentality, ' everybody is supporting and I want to support too'. Hold on! Do you know what you are supporting? It is the sudden sentiments of the people that triggered the upsurge. But for how long will these sentiments last? A few years may be!

I might sound very pessimistic, but let's face it, a completely corrupt free India is a utopian idea. Jan lokpal bill is a positive step, but let's not forget that the bill has its own flaws.