Surprised by the careless opinion of a colleague on duty regarding the maintenance of our communal toilets, I thought about it and I asked myself questions.

Why is the maintenance of the public good so uneasy? Why does nobody want to take care of it? Why destroying it is a pleasure for some? Doesn't the public good belong to someone after all?

The public good, a collective heritage

The public good belongs to each of us and to all of us at the same time. When it comes to protecting it, it belongs to the community. When it comes to profiting it is up to the individual. And as such, we enjoy it.

Rights correspond to duties and no one can take advantage of the former without satisfying the latter. My duty vis-à-vis the right to enjoy the public good is to protect it and take care of it without waiting for a counterpart.

So I must take care of my environment, the public places of my locality, public administrative buildings, public lighting, public toilets, to name just a few. In doing so, I contribute to the protection of the natural, material and financial resources of my country. And I show my good citizen faith.

The public good is mine.
The public good is yours.
Protect it.