A Trashy Subject

I went for a walk one recent morning, as I do every day.

But that walk was different. I had already walked my dogs, so I decided to take advantage of a beautiful spring morning and walk down a paved walking trail I hadn't taken in quite a while. About half way to the end of the trail (it isn't very long), I saw a bench where I wanted to stop and remove a pebble from my shoe. Behind the bench was a plastic grocery bag. So I picked it up and planned to take it home to properly dispose of it. Inside was an empty 12-ounce beer can. On the ground nearby was another 12-ounce beer can and a 32-ounce can.

I continued my walk and soon came across the cardboard carton that had held 12 cans of beer. Inside were three cans still full of beer. I emptied them and put the empty cans in the bag, along with the cardboard carton. 

I live in a very nice neighborhood full of lovely houses. Yet every day I see at least one discarded can or bottle during my walks. What kind of people do this? What kind of people can't be bothered to properly dispose of their trash? I don't believe this trash is left behind by homeowners. It appears to have been tossed from passing vehicles, except for the trash that was obviously left behind by people on foot near the bench where I found it. Someone was able to carry in a 12-pack of beer, but that person was obviously too weak to carry out the trash.

The following day, as I drove to the grocery store, I passed a large, full plastic trash bag dumped on the side of a road that is fairly heavily used. Again I wondered, what kind of person thinks it's OK to do this? I guess it's the same kind of people who think it's OK to dump old toilets, tires and a hot tub on some vacant city-owned property nearby, rather than taking these items to the city dump.

I wonder whether these people treat their homes and yards this way. I'd guess many of the offenders are young (who else drinks Pabst and cheap whiskey?), and I don't know any adults who enjoy pulling down street signs. My parents taught me better than to throw trash out the car window. Somewhere along the way our country has gone terribly wrong. And we have gone wrong in so many areas, not just in throwing trash around.

What happened to our sense of pride, to our sense of decorum and personal resonsibility? What happened to leaving an area in a better condition than we found it? What happened to taking care of the only planet we have on which to live?