New Rule - Étage Tranquillité
Hello world. It's been sometime (just over two years!) since I have written to the blogosphere. Who reads? Who cares? Who cares!
For those of you who have read past blogs you'll know that there are two topics I have often written about. One is Japan and the other is the use of rules in our society. This post marries both topics.
One of the things that most impresses me about Japan is the respect that its citizens seem to have towards one another, towards public property and personal space. Many say this is due to the close quarters the Japanese live in. I happen to think there is much more to it than the close quarters.
I can recall multiple examples of respect but the one that pops into my head now is riding on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo. Close to 4 million people ride that line on a daily basis. I rode it one morning during rush hour. I was in a sea of humanity. At most a few centimetres separated me from my fellow riders. More impressive than the sheer number of people was the calm I experienced. It was quiet. If people spoke to each other it was at a whisper. No annoying ring tones. No high pitched sound emanating from those piece of crap earbuds people use to listen to their tunes. Silence. Respect. Only the fan of the car trying to keep the temperature bearable.
Now over to topic number two - rules. It seems that human beings have a need to impose rules on each other to try to keep order. The problem with rules is that often times they actually cause more external conflict. What do I mean? Let me use a recent example. One which gives this post its title.
I commute on trains run by the Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT) de Montréal. Recently it launched some new behavioural rules which it wants its customers to abide by. The upper deck of the two floor cars are now declared a tranquil or quiet zone. A place where conversations are from now on to be had at low voice. Where one must keep music volume low and where mobile phone ring tones are to be silenced. All three points I agree with and so I was happy that the AMT put these rules in place. I also wondered how long it would take for an argument to break out.
It happened within weeks. A group of three Russian-speaking commuters seated themselves and were having a seemingly jovial conversation (laughing, smiling and good times included). Within a few minutes a woman got up and angrily referred the group to the rules. The group went back and forth for yet another few minutes calling each other uptight or disrespectful before all four sat down and tried to enjoy the rest of their commute in relative silence. The Russians must have been murmuring about the woman and she must have been thinking of the three loud mouths.
It has now been two months and I am awaiting the next argument. It will surely come. The noise level has dropped off but there are still many loud mouths, deaf music listeners and mobile phone toting commuters that don't seem to get it.
Does society really need pointed, specific, location-based rules to be groom respect in its citizens? Is there an alternative way? Do we need to look at more fundamental teachings?
Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!
For those of you who have read past blogs you'll know that there are two topics I have often written about. One is Japan and the other is the use of rules in our society. This post marries both topics.
One of the things that most impresses me about Japan is the respect that its citizens seem to have towards one another, towards public property and personal space. Many say this is due to the close quarters the Japanese live in. I happen to think there is much more to it than the close quarters.
I can recall multiple examples of respect but the one that pops into my head now is riding on the Yamanote Line in Tokyo. Close to 4 million people ride that line on a daily basis. I rode it one morning during rush hour. I was in a sea of humanity. At most a few centimetres separated me from my fellow riders. More impressive than the sheer number of people was the calm I experienced. It was quiet. If people spoke to each other it was at a whisper. No annoying ring tones. No high pitched sound emanating from those piece of crap earbuds people use to listen to their tunes. Silence. Respect. Only the fan of the car trying to keep the temperature bearable.
Now over to topic number two - rules. It seems that human beings have a need to impose rules on each other to try to keep order. The problem with rules is that often times they actually cause more external conflict. What do I mean? Let me use a recent example. One which gives this post its title.
I commute on trains run by the Agence Métropolitaine de Transport (AMT) de Montréal. Recently it launched some new behavioural rules which it wants its customers to abide by. The upper deck of the two floor cars are now declared a tranquil or quiet zone. A place where conversations are from now on to be had at low voice. Where one must keep music volume low and where mobile phone ring tones are to be silenced. All three points I agree with and so I was happy that the AMT put these rules in place. I also wondered how long it would take for an argument to break out.
It happened within weeks. A group of three Russian-speaking commuters seated themselves and were having a seemingly jovial conversation (laughing, smiling and good times included). Within a few minutes a woman got up and angrily referred the group to the rules. The group went back and forth for yet another few minutes calling each other uptight or disrespectful before all four sat down and tried to enjoy the rest of their commute in relative silence. The Russians must have been murmuring about the woman and she must have been thinking of the three loud mouths.
It has now been two months and I am awaiting the next argument. It will surely come. The noise level has dropped off but there are still many loud mouths, deaf music listeners and mobile phone toting commuters that don't seem to get it.
Does society really need pointed, specific, location-based rules to be groom respect in its citizens? Is there an alternative way? Do we need to look at more fundamental teachings?
Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!
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