Common Courtesy (warning: rant ahead)

(Note: today's photo is not one with an interesting subject, per se. I just feel compelled to talk about a certain topic.)

I saw this in the ladies' washroom on campus today. Granted, someone could have left it there and came back to get it after using the washroom, but chances are that she didn't.

Why can't people be responsible for their own garbage?

In the case of this coffee cup, the garbage can was less than 10 steps away. Was it really that difficult to dispose of it properly? The same goes for trash littered on the street and garbage left on the tables in food courts. There are garbage cans specifically for people to dispose of their trash. Sure, one can say that there are janitors that will do the job, but they already have enough (unpleasant) cleaning to do. Why not help them out by putting your own garbage in the trash?

My intention is not to offend anyone. And, hey, I'm not perfect either, but why don't we all try to be? I believe that common courtesy (for example, picking up after yourself, holding the door open for someone, not taking up the entire sidewalk, and amongst many others), is one of the fundamental components to a civilized culture. Don't we all want to live in a cleaner place? Also, we teach these concepts to children, but as adults, we don't follow the same rules. Isn't that hypocrisy?

Please, pick up after yourselves. We are all grownups.