Trickle Down Trash

Remember the commercial in the 1970s that depicted a Native American man weeping as he watched a passerby speed down the highway tossing trash out the window of his car?  I’ve felt like that Indian lately as I commute each day and as I travel on Georgia’s highways and back roads.  I’ve never seen so much trash on the side of the road, and I’m talking bags of trash, not just the usual burger wrapper and fry box that has become an accepted part of the landscape.  It’s as if people are taking their home trash and tossing it out of their car windows.  I can’t tell who is to blame: the offenders or the parties responsible for cleanup, but I am certain the overriding cause is the current economic depression.

Are citizens so distraught over the economic downturn that they have given up all semblance decency and civic responsibility?  Is a tossed bag of home trash on the side of the road the equivalent of a middle finger or a strongly-worded letter to the editor or email to a county commissioner?  Sure, crime goes up when the economy goes down, but is the same true for littering?  Is littering some sort of passive-aggressive protest against the establishment? 

Or perhaps city, county and state governments are cutting services, and trash pickup isn’t a priority. It should be.  Trash on the roads is indicative of an overall lack of vigilance on the part of community leaders and enforcement.  Trash on the roads is indicative of abandonment.  Trash on the roads is indicative of a lack of care.  Trash on the roads is indicative of trashy people. And trashy people who know they are not being watched commit crimes.  Others have recognized this connection.

When Rudy Giuliani became mayor of New York, the first thing he did was clean up the streets.  Literally.  Giuliani believed that if you cleaned up the streets and got rid of the debris, graffiti, and broken windows, you cleaned up the crime.  And it worked.  As trash disappeared, so did crime.  The converse is true, as well: if trash increases, so does crime.

A clean street shows care. A clean community shows pride.  Even when we’re down and the prospects for the future look bleak, our standards must not drop in tandem.  Next time you are on the road, notice the trash.  Call your city.  Call your county. Demand more from your elected officials.  Demand more from your neighbors. Demand pride. 

Live proud.   

Comments

[charyl]

Litter bugs beware. We are on to you now!!

[The Hiker]

Thanks, pops! Enjoy your comments!

[Jim Mc Mahon]

Joel, right on. One of your best. Makes a lot of sense.

Good work.