Clean cut

"When Dickens came to the United States, he was on a train, and he thought it was snowing — but it was people spitting out the window. Spitting was so popular, you would step on a carpet and it would be saturated with tobacco spit..." - David O' Russell

Thought i should share this to throw light on certain realities of the past. The cleanliness in the modern Western world isn't a natural phenomenon. It took years for them to arrive at a point where social responsibility is taken seriously, unlike say in a country like India. We might be disgusted with the way our cities are (villages are comparatively more pleasing to eyes) but we shouldn't forget that we are a nation of 1.25 billion and this figure is scary because it's always increasing. So, expecting everyone to toe in line is quite a task unless we are in an authoritarian state like China. Regardless, cleanliness is a personal activity which is sometimes public in nature. 300 years ago, the streets of Paris used to be filled with mushy filth, almost covering one's ankles. But things changed, didn't they? Gradually, yes, but they did. All that's needed is effort and patience.