Almost every time I go to Astana’s public places, it ends with a psychological trauma. Every time I want to hang huge posters on the skyscrapers of the city:

     “People! Be tactful and polite!

     Do not jump the queue. Do not push people around. Do not stand close to the person standing in front of you. Observe the distance.

     While waiting for the lift to arrive, do not stand directly in front of the door. First, let people go out.

     If you run into someone in the doorway, do not go ahead. First, ask the person to pass, then go.

     When someone uses an ATM, do not look over their shoulder and do not stand close to them. Nobody suspects you of trying to remember the code, but you do not have to make a stranger nervous either.

     Don’t throw cigarette butts and spit on the ground. It pollutes our streets and is unpleasant to other people.”

     I am writing all this, thinking: where does this culture come from? Who and where teaches it? There is no such subject at school. Parents of some children are no better than the children themselves. Some, on the contrary, have turned it into a family philosophy: think fast, do not be a dummy, break forward without waiting, the other people will wait.

     The only way out is for us, for those who understand the need for change for the better, to set an example for our children and people around us. Behave well, no matter what.

     I believe that gradually this will give results. The culture of behavior in society will spread like an epidemic. Slowly, but inevitably.

     We also must talk about this. In social networks, on the street, at home.

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