Society has many bumps and potholes. What happens when those potholes become sinkholes? What happens when a small blip reaches Critical Mass. Today I want to talk about litter.
Daily experience: I walk across campus and see strategically placed trash cans. At no spot are you more than a few feet away. Guess what is all over the ground. Cups, wrappers, apple cores and things that defy imagination.
Daily experience: It is impossible to walk to the school building without walking on the black spots that signify “gum was dropped here” and not cleaned up.
Daily experience: You pass a sign on the highway that advertises what business has adopted that segment of highway to pick up trash. The business seems to have gone bankrupt.
Daily experience: I am at Panera for my bread and coffee. As I walk to the seating area I am forced to pass several table because the previous occupant has left their trash on the table. It would be no problem if they left a tip, but they don’t.
One person dropping a gum wrapper is no crisis. An entire school of children who throw their gum wherever they feel like it is a coming disaster. The adult population that modeled that behavior is a disgrace. Forget how unsightly it is. Don’t worry about the spread of germs and disease. What does it say about how these children will live in a society that demands responsibly and cooperation in order to allow liberty? We already have laws and penalties for littering. Are we going to need Gum Police to enforce that law and keep our streets clean?
Have you seen the movie “Idiocracy”? It was released in 2006 and is a scary film. It shows what I see happening at school every day. When the hero wakes up in the future one of the visual effects is a city almost covered with piles of trash. Picking up after yourself is a sign of good home training and responsibility. It is a sign of higher culture. If you don’t believe me drive through Los Angeles and watch the sidewalks. When you go from one neighborhood to another you see dramatic difference. One has pristine sidewalks and gutters. The next has trash and weeds in the gutters and trash and gum on the walkways.
Which future do you want to see?
homo unius libri
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