LET US LIVE WITHOUT HARMING: LET US BE CONSIDERATE

Let us try not to harm or bother others, because the former is medium-level harm and the latter is low-intensity, but harm nonetheless.

1. HARMING

To be clear, “harming” would be what people colloquially call messing with others—such as protesting by blocking streets and roads, or by shutting down airports or trains. It would also include cases where picket lines prevent those who wish to do so from going to work. We all have the right to protest, but it can be done considerately or in a way that harms others and tramples on their right to freedom of movement.

In fact, ideally each municipality would have a specific area for demonstrations, public events, celebrations, and festivities, from religious processions to Gay Pride. And it would be mandatory to hold these gatherings there. To avoid disrupting citizens’ daily lives, the ideal spaces are the typical ones where there are hardly any pedestrians or traffic. There, participants can shout and make as much noise as they like, stay as long as they want, and be dressed or undressed as they please—but all without poking others in the eye.

Another way of harming is setting off firecrackers and rockets. This may be unpleasant for some people, but above all it causes a great deal of anxiety for many animals. So much so that some people have to give Valium to their pets, or even flee elsewhere on holidays when firecrackers are set off, so their dogs do not suffer. With so many enjoyable ways to have fun, why choose one that harms others?

Another form of inconsideration is a lack of respect for what belongs to others—for example, renting an apartment and being careless with it because it is someone else’s, leaving it in poor condition. Or wasting electricity and other resources in places that are not ours, such as a workplace or a hotel—things we would not squander if we had to pay for them ourselves—thus applying a double standard: generous for us and strict for others.

Related to the above, another form of incivility is wasting everyone’s money—for example, an excess of political posts, advisers, and civil servants; public bodies; or subsidized associations. It is also the case when certain politicians are granted lifetime pensions, or when infrastructure that is hardly used is built to win votes in the areas where it is created—throwing money out the window in a way they would not if it had to come from their own pockets. Or taking the basket filled with everyone’s banknotes and tossing them into the air in order to support subsidized people who do not work even though they could if they wanted to—doing so to create a clientelist system of votes in exchange for benefits, etc.

Read DO NOT STEAL!: Neither directly nor indirectly

Let us take example from cultures that are upright as a ruler. This is the case of the Netherlands, where the ethic of managing public money well takes precedence—even more than private money—and where other people’s resources are cared for better than one’s own. Or the Nordic countries, where high-level politicians cycle or take public transport to their offices instead of using official cars, and where members of parliament, when they are in the capital, sleep in small studio apartments with shared washing machines instead of receiving large allowances.

WATCH VIDEO ABOUT SWEDISH MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

Another way of messing with others is reporting someone who has broken a legal provision but has not harmed anyone. Would it not be better to mind our own business and leave others in peace?

Read LET US NOT HARM ANYONE!

LIVING WITHOUT HARM: Let us be good people

2. BOTHERING

An example of bothering would be shouting or speaking very loudly in places where there are other people. Let us learn from more civic-minded countries, such as Germany or Switzerland, which have a culture of speaking in a way that does not disturb others. In the latter, you can even be fined for playing a video at a certain volume on your mobile phone in the street.