After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist-led airplane hijackings and crashes that caused death, injury, and property damage, many people volunteered to help on rescue crews. Many donated blood, goods, services, money, and organized or performed at events to benefit victims and families. Many worked to remove the rubble the terrorist attacks had caused in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, we have gone steadily trashing our nation on our own. We do it one French fry, one drink cup, one burger or taco wrapper, one nacho tray, one candy wrapper, one juice can, one milk or water bottle, one lunch box, one straw, half-eaten apple and half-eaten sandwich any time. We toss them on lawns, parking lots, ball fields and bus benches, along with pepper packets, garlic butter pods, fry sauce and other condiments.
With a high school on the east, a church west across the street, and an elementary school to the southwest, and grocery, convenience, and fast-food shops to the north and east, my neighborhood (and all others I’ve seen) is litter-ly covered. After-hours walkers or joggers at the schools/church will see all kinds of sports gear, books, school supplies or parts thereof — even soiled diapers. Yes, diapers.
Then the parking lot around the clinic, hair salon, burger, pizza, taco, fuel and floral shops was completely resurfaced. Within a day, tobacco-users had covered it with cigarette butts, boxes and snuff cans. Burger joint employees stood several yards away from the outside ashtray, puffed awhile, and then tossed the butts on the parking lot. Since vaping became popular, these “containers” crawl around with the tobacco remains.
While we may not consider ourselves “terrorists,” we certainly behave terribly toward our environment.
Carol B. Quist, Murray
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