From lacking basic common sense in public places to showing hostility towards others for no reason, most of us seem to lack the civic sense that would be expected of any even slightly educated person. If even the educated adults of our country fail to show basic humanity and common sense in favour of slight personal gain, can we expect civic sense from the youth of the nation? Wouldn't it be better to stop hoping and give up on developing civic sense?

Most of us lack common sense and the habit of following even the most basic rules. We block the side of the escalator where people are supposed to walk, block passengers from exiting the train so we can push our way to a seat we do not need, show no basic respect or responsibility towards others, and litter for no reason. There are numerous such instances in both public and private spaces, and they would make any normal person wonder how we were educated and how we got this far without learning the most basic manners.

Similarly, I believe we have too much emotion and act on it readily, without a single thought for the future or the consequences. This includes politics, common brawls, sports, etc. Just because a group of uneducated people cause issues, many of us jump onto a side and continue the issue without thinking about what is happening around us. Most of us also ignore social problems and just record everything without doing anything about it. We choose self-preservation over justice, joining the side of justice only when a braver individual stands up to injustice, and otherwise just watch or ignore it. Most of us also have a habit of backbiting and insulting others, even our own relatives, over the most unnecessary things, and of spreading rumours for no reason, which others choose to believe and gossip about. Most of us also lack basic respect for our elders and teachers.

So where does this issue stem from? Our economic situation? Our history? Our education? I believe it is because of how we were brought up. Firstly, as I have mentioned, most of us, even many of our highly educated adults, lack basic common sense. They are selfish, cannot keep hold of their emotions and ignore the problems of our society. We and our younger generation watch this while growing up and learn that self-preservation is better than putting oneself at risk, even for something good. And even when people do set self-preservation aside, it is often out of emotion, without thinking of the future and the consequences of their actions, and just following what the majority are doing.

Secondly, our education often prioritises academic excellence over actually beneficial lessons, and even when such lessons are taught through the curriculum, many of us forget them once the exams are over. Many parents in our nation also fail to teach their children basic common sense and manners, so the children end up copying what others do, and often those are not good things. This is prevalent among all classes and societies and, from what I have observed, is not tied to our financial situation. We simply lack a sense of responsibility and of thinking for the future. Nor are we free of blame: instead of making people aware of their mistakes, I am here writing an essay on the topic, hoping someone else will do the job.

Since it seems that we refuse to learn from others or from developed nations, and cannot even think about the damage our actions are causing, should we just give up hope that we will one day realise these issues and develop common and civic sense? I believe not. Even if the older generation and ours have failed at this, we have a duty to at least try to point the younger generation towards a more civilised future. From teaching basic respect and manners, to teaching them not to judge others by their looks and financial situation, to educating them to value humanity above everything else, we could not only educate the younger generation but also hope these lessons spread to their peers through them. As we know, a man is known by the company he keeps.