Most everyone from the United States is familiar with NBC's "The More You Know" public service announcements. Most involve an environmental, health, or discriminatory issue. While Singapore is no stranger to such movements (I've seen multiple anti-smoking and dengue fever prevention campaigns), another type of movement exists here. I call it the "do what you should do anyway" campaigns. The "captain obvious" campaigns. The "you can't control what everyone does but we're sure as hell going to try" campaigns.
Posted throughout the city – on billboards, in MRT stations, and freestanding on the street – are signs encouraging people to basically be nice. Whether it is allowing others to disembark trains first, respecting those of other cultures, exercising a general amount of courtesy, or allowing "priority" passengers to sit in public transit vehicles, these suggestions permeate the city and for the most part are observed.
The most recent of these campaign involves how to board, ride, and alight from trains in a courteous manner. Let others off first before boarding, help the elderly alight if needed, move to the center of the train to allow others room. To help send the message home, two famous-faced Singaporean sit-com actors lead the campaign with full-sized posters in and outside train vehicles and video jingles transmitted on buses and trains during transit.
Some US-based campaigns may send similar suggestions home, but they are still seen as just that..."suggestions," ultimately allowing people to make decisions for themselves. Sometimes the particular issue is observed, but often it is not. In Singapore, however, these campaigns permeate to the nth degree. The sheer number of "be nice" campaigns is large and suggestions are observed with much more vigor than the US. The campaigns are not merely afterthoughts here...they are seen as improvements to life, yours and others'.
Courtesy is not just something Singaporeans decide to do if they are in the mood. It is promoted by the government, observed by the community, and respected as a way of life.
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