What I mention today takes a little time to sink in, but it is to me quite remarkable. Beings, human and otherwise, that I would not expect to be well-bahaved, are. Well behaved, that is, and in a way that I am literally at a loss to explain. Let me give you a few examples.
A few weeks ago, we were going down the street in a very busy part of Riga, and we saw a fairly typical sight, namely a group of about 4 boys out on the street going about their business. That's a little unusual to me, because in America today, especially in the city, you don't see many kids out on their own recognizance. The threat of either the kids getting into mischief, or the much more sinister threat of some kind predatory adult keeps most kids well under the direct supervision of an adult. In fact, I've sometimes mused about the loss of freedom for kids, and how different my childrens' experience is than my own experience was, and yet I see no responsible way to significantly change that fact. The children here have a measure of independence that reminds me a lot of the way life was in the USA when I was a kid. It's not unusual to see an 8 or 9 year-old going to the store by himself to get something: The only issue is, "Can he get to and from the store by himself" as opposed to, "Will something bad happen to him, being that he's all alone?"
Getting back to the gang of kids going down the street: They wouldn't have been at all unusual, except for the fact that the oldest of the four could not have been older than 7, more likely 6. He was accompanied by, Ellie and I both agree, a couple of 5 year-olds and, I kid you not, a 2 to 3 year old boy. It's not even that they were baby-sitting him; you could tell by the way the group moved that the four of them were hanging out together, and that the little guy, though we was slower than the rest, was just part of the crowd.
My first reaction was a kind of worry: does that little boy need help? Is he being neglected? Is he going to get run over? Watching them for a minute, though, showed that they were both well-behaved, and responsible. They were staying well away from the very busy street, and were minding their own business. That's when a sense of wonder sunk in: How do you even teach someone that young to behave so well, even with no adults around? How and when did anyone have time to teach that little guy to behave like that?
Exhibit B: The dogs. All of them. Lots of people own dogs over here and I would estimate that at least 80% are walked by their owners with no leash. Around other people, around other dogs, and there the dog is, sometimes a group of 3 or 4 dogs, off any kind of leash or restraint, and NEVER even NEAR out of control: No more than 4 or 5 feet from the owner, and intently watching the owner so as to not get too far away. You never seem to see any dog owner fussing/struggling/yelling at their dogs. It's like the dog is some kind of robot programmed to do precisely what the owner wants. Friday evening, Shohna and I walked up to the little store on the corner, and when we came out we saw a dog standing outside the door. He had a leash, but it was draped across his back (not attached to anything else), and the dog appeared to be trying very hard to imitate a mannequin: he moved his eyes to follow us, but wouldn't so much as shift the weight on his front feet. I have a little experience with obedience training of dogs, and I've been to many a dogshow where the dogs do a long 'down-stay': the dog is commanded to lie down and stay still, and the owner leaves for up to 20 minutes. If the dog gets up, or even crawls around, he fails. I know that it takes consistent 4 and 5 nights/week training over a period of months to get to that point, but even then, still as a statue? I don't recall ever seeing that. Here, if you see anything less, it would be actually be unusual.
It seems like there is some kind of "I must be obedient" gene passed to the generations. Maybe it's a survival of the fittest kind of thing: maybe all the beings with the "I want to do my own thing" genes failed to survive, and everyone left and all of their offspring are just born with the desire and understanding to behave. Who knows? I just find it fascinating.
Bob
Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to
E-mail me!
Then we meandered around the market for awhile, while vendors called things out to us. They all seemed more friendly today, maybe some of them are starting to recognize us. I kept trying to get Bob and Shohna (my almost thirteen-year old) enthused about various warm hats, scarves, and gloves. I couldn't get any takers until Bob tried on a drivers cap. I told him how handsome he was, and like any red-blooded male, he fell for it. (Plus, I think the cap was warm.)
