“Action, as distinguished from fabrication, is never possible in isolation; to be isolated is to be deprived of the capacity to act.”

– Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition (1958)

Being out and about is nice. So much time in our lives is spent at home or at work/school. The chance to be outside and touch grass should be taken at every opportunity. Living somewhere walkable and human scaled is nice, but even in concrete jungles, it is still worth going outside. It has come to this author’s attention that there is a specter haunting the public square, a phantom that threatens to ruin society. As the summer is well and truly over and people are bundling up for winter, it would be prudent to reflect on past experiences in public, so that next summer can become better. Rather than announcing the problem up front, may the dear reader allow a story to be painted, different experiences being explored so that the weight of this problem may be explored in all its depth.

In the current city that I reside in, there is a large shopping street that is around three quarters of a mile long. There are a plethora of shops and stores that are lined along it. It is a very large street that can accommodate a lot of pedestrians. An exact number may be hard to guess, but nevertheless this shopping street is always busy. I have walked down this street many times, but over the summer one particular situation kept occurring, namely people trying to get my attention and trying to get me to talk to them.

Usually it would be from some NGO or charity, trying to get donations for orphans or trying to send shoes to a village in Africa. While they all have different goals, the end result is nearly always the same. They grab your attention with some question, sometimes something unrelated, but other times they just ask if you have a second. Sometimes they would also try to give you a flyer or at least try to get you to take something so they can catch your eyes for a moment. I remember a few particular days where trying to get to where I wanted to go felt like a sport. There is often no real way to politely brush them off. You can’t just shout no thank you, but if you stop for even a second they will do whatever they can to get you to stay. The problems that they are trying to bring attention to are important and shouldn’t be ignored, but the guilt tactics that they employ to get you to donate are often unpleasant.

Another common occurrence is similar, but even more uncomfortable, at least for myself. There are not an over abundance of homeless people in my city, but they do exist, and they often find themselves begging. The tragedy and origin of homelessness is a story for another time, but in the end, their begging can at times become frustrating. Sometimes homeless people will ask you for money, other times they may just grunt or say something difficult to understand, and other times they will try and engage you with a whole conversation. While this is not necessarily a problem, I don’t always have the time to hear someone’s life story or to chat with someone who I will likely never see again. This too can sometimes prove to be an undesired experience.

My third and final example is similar to the first two, but takes on another angle. That is, one often runs into religious groups while out and about in public. Sometimes there are people with signs shouting at people, other times people with stands and literature are trying to give out pamphlets and engage with people in conversation. These groups often look similar to the NGO or the charity, but at least without the expectation of wanting money. However, there is still a problem. Ignoring the fact that anyone with a speaker and a microphone in public tends to be a nuisance, no matter what they are saying, unfortunately many of these religious groups are not as savory as one would want.

Many of these groups are sects that straddle the fence between esoteric churches and cults. I wish it was only orthodox and trinitarian Christians who were approaching people in public, but in my experience, it is often Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, or other similarly problematic groups who are selling a false gospel. Could this possibly be an indictment that normal Christians aren’t evangelizing enough? Maybe, in fact probably. However, the case still stands that because of these less than favorable groups, these conversations tend to be equally as frustrating.

The reader may be beginning to see the image that I am trying to paint. It may appear that I do not like being approached in public, and therein lies the problem. I like being approached in public. I am just tired of there being some agenda or ulterior motive behind it. Small talk is fun and it’s fun to be open to new and random people. However, I find these three examples to run counter to this. I also fear that these stories are symptoms of a great problem.

These examples might seem innocent enough, and on their own they are. None of us lives in a vacuum, and because of this, these can all cause a problem when experienced together. Let me ask, when was the last time you were randomly approached in public? It may have been a while ago, it may have been recently. But was there any ulterior motive behind the approach? Were you being requested to give anything? My assumption is yes, the reader was probably last approached with some request. I think that this is doing a lot of damage to our public space. We live in a society. And because we live in a society, there are certain expectations that need to be upheld. While the issues brought forth by these interrupters are important, the sanctity and sanity of the public commons needs to be respected.

If we want to live in an open and high trust society, we need to be able to feel like we can be open and that we can trust others. There should be small talk while waiting in line or at a store. We should not always feel as if we are obligated to donate or give to this or that cause. There should be random encounters where people just want to compliment your outfit, or where someone just wants to speak a few words just for the sake of it. With charities, the homeless, and religious groups running about, people often become sceptical and cold. Instead of treating a random approach from a stranger with warmth and genuine curiosity, the default is to feel defensive and to want to immediately get away from the person. Frankly, I think many of us are sick of always being asked to give something away all the time. It would be nice if interactions in public were open, honest, and without any expectation. Not to mention that many of these groups tend to also use clever tactics to get you to donate. It is a shame that there are starving children in Africa, but that doesn’t mean I am going to give you my wallet.

It is worth talking about the religious groups who in this instance are on my list of frustrations. Christians are called to go and make disciples. We are called to preach the gospel and proclaim the name of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Therefore, it should be fine for Christians to share the gospel. In the current year, I just wonder how effective this is. Obviously, we must share the gospel with the world. This is not optional. However, I am not sure that there is a particular method that is required. I am not saying that it is bad to talk with random people in public. Again, I just wonder how effective it is. I have not seen any stats, but at least anecdotally, I have never met one person who came to Christ because of a street preacher. Through friends, family, and loving individuals I have heard of many becoming saved, but not from receiving a random tract on the street.

It’s no secret that our high trust societies are quickly changing and becoming more low trust. I can’t imagine that things were like this sixty years ago. People are becoming distrustful by default and people are less open to the plights of their fellow man. While being approached in public may not sound like the most important issue in this arena, it’s like a death by a thousand cuts. It is the details that matter, and I would like people to feel comfortable in public, without any obligation to donate or join a cause that they may be peer pressured into. I do not think that legislation or more laws are the solution to this, but as with many things, there needs to be a change of heart.

Many of the people who beg for your attention or money in public are skilled in manipulation, and that has to stop. If someone isn’t interested in a charity, then they should not feel any pressure. Everything should be done without any guilt on the conscience and I think that we as a society need to be less accepting of those who pray on the vulnerable and naive. Charity is a good thing and homeless people do often need help, though in a serious society this should be on our terms. When there is a real problem, or a crisis that causes homelessness, it should be churches and strong men who effectively help and give to those who will do the best with these resources. If charity is being done by an NGO suckering old people to chip in, then they have to go.

While it may be naive, I really do wish for a world where people are open and curious when people are randomly approached in public. There will always be bad apples, but people should feel like anything could be possible and that they could be making a new connection. People will continue to grow more and more distant from their fellow man if these parasitic conversations are the only ones being experienced day to day. On a practical note, this leads me to one final that I think someone can take with and actually practice. After having considered this issue, I would like to make it a goal to talk with people randomly in public, but without any expectations. Letting someone know that their outfit is nice or noting how lovely the weather is is enough. It does not need to be any more complicated or detailed than that. If the average person experiences these types of stress free conversations in public, that may be one of the small steps that can be taken to bring us back to where we should be.

“Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” – Colossians 4:6 (KJV)

“And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.” – Acts 10:42 (KJV)