Morals and Manners
Respect is the Common Denominator
Respect for ourselves guides our morals, and respect for others guides our manners. ~Laurence Sterne
I recently wrote about tolerance and why we should try to understand what motivates the offensive behavior of others (well, offensive in our minds, anyway.) Rather than judging the person, we should consider any plausible reasons for their unsociable choices.
Objectionable conduct falls into many categories; everything from road rage to racism. We’re all products of our environments, varying from one extreme to the other.
The photo above illustrates one of my pet peeves with regard to unacceptable behavior that, while unsightly, may seem harmless. However, that’s not the case; litter negatively affects our planet in multiple ways.
So, I’m going to play devil’s advocate. Apparently, this Starbucks consumer doesn't know where the nearest trash can is and feels that it’s okay to leave their garbage behind. Maybe it didn’t occur to them to take the cup and dispose of it at home. Or, they might believe that it’s somebody else’s job to clean up their messes.
Whatever the reason, there’s a whole lot of ignorance going on.
Obviously, this Unsplash picture was staged, but it exemplifies something I see too much of these days. It pisses me off and leads to the question:
“Why DO people litter?”
After a quick search, I found that the main reasons are:1
Laziness/carelessness
Lack of access to trash receptacles
The presence of litter already in the area
Lenient law enforcement
I recently experienced a good example of the ‘laziness/carelessness’ reason. With a two-hour wait to board our return flight after Thanksgiving, we chose an empty gate to kill time. In what was a small area, I saw the following:
A plastic straw
The wrapper for the straw
A plastic spoon
The wrapper for the spoon
A ketchup packet
A plastic soft drink cup
A plastic soft drink bottle
A milkshake cup
Two children’s drink pouches.
In addition, on one seat, there was an open condiment packet containing a chicken nugget, with another one lodged nearby. In that cupholder was an almost full milkshake and a receipt lying on the floor.
I was beyond disgusted by the lack of respect for other travelers and the janitorial staff who had to clean up this mess. If this was someone’s child who left these items behind, imagine the lesson it teaches about personal accountability and waste. And if it was an adult, what kind of message are they sending to the rest of us?
There were trash receptacles nearby, and I didn’t notice the presence of litter throughout the airport. Actually, it was quite clean except for this one area.
I doubt the airport penalizes customers for their slovenly habits. On a 2019 trip to Italy (my first time flying to Europe), I was horrified at the condition of the plane upon landing. It was a 10-hour flight, and it looked like a bunch of animals had made the trip. Truly disgusting!
Growing up, I remember the “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute” and “Crying Indian” ad campaigns that encouraged responsible stewardship of the environment. We were told that it was inconsiderate to our fellow citizens and the planet. Being a litterbug was uncool!
Those campaigns, plus the creation of Earth Day and a wave of environmental legislation in the 1970s, helped curb the problem (for a brief time.) Unfortunately, the focus was on individual actions and didn’t include businesses that contribute far more to the problem (in a variety of ways.)
I see more litter today than I remember in the last few decades, and thanks to single-use plastic waste, the problem is growing.
In my opinion, it’s time to revive these types of initiatives and educate people about the harmful effects of pollution. Efforts to this end have been in the works for years, but we’re slow learners. Education needs to start with children. Like any attempt at change, it’ll take time. Being young and impressionable (open-minded) means they’ll glean the facts and retain the lessons longer. Adults have long-standing tendencies and shorter memories due to overly busy lives (and sometimes mixed-up priorities.)
Example: In my mind’s eye, I can still see my brother and me drawing circles around our mother’s cigarettes at the halfway point with a red pen. We’d whisk her pack away to the cellar while she was busy at the clothesline.
Hearing about this tactic from an antismoking campaign in the early 70s, we also included tiny drawings of a skull and crossbones on the package, carefully replacing the cellophane wrapper and returning the pack to the kitchen table. We continued this practice for a while, but unfortunately, it didn’t work.
However, that’s a lot of details for someone who can’t remember where she set her phone down 15 minutes ago. This illustrates my belief that it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
Children will learn better and retain the lesson longer than adults.
I believe that folks who weren’t taught to respect themselves also don’t respect others, which seems to be a growing problem today.
I was once a smoker who thought nothing of tossing cigarette butts out the car window (which is hard for me to believe today.) Likewise, I didn’t think much of myself or what negative effects this could have on others. Garbage in, garbage out.
Thankfully, as I learned healthy boundaries and gained self-respect, I also acquired an appreciation for wildlife and the environment.
I only wish that self-worth could be wrapped up and given to those who need it. But, if not learned in childhood, it’s a gift we must give ourselves. Depending on the circumstances, that takes a lot of self-reflection and hard work. Only then are we able to pay it forward and benefit the world we live in.
Sorry, I missed y’all last week…I got tied up with familial and animal rescue commitments (I kept the relatives happy and found a home for a beautiful stray kitty). But I’m glad you’re here this week…thanks for reading!
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
LIFE MATTERS is a reader-supported publication (No Ads or Affiliate links). So please SUBSCRIBE to / and SHARE if you enjoy this weekly newsletter. Or, consider UPGRADING TO PAID to receive Private-Subscriber Only Posts + Bonus Content while supporting a small independent writer.
I'm so with you on respect. Respect for humans, animals and the environment.
First World inhabitants these days exhibit an extraordinary amount or entitlement. When former genrations lived a life of respect, kindness and care, a large proportion these days expect freedoms without repsonisbility.
There are parents in the First World who don't give 2 hoots about boundaries and rules so how can the offspring be better than the monsters they are. A friend's daughter and her friend were chased down in the street the other day in broad daylight by two very drunk teenaged girl (13 and 16). My friend's daughter had hanks of her hair ripped out from the scalp and her glasses smashed and the other was pushed into the gutter and bashed. The police were called, the girls were caught but no charges laid because the Youth Justice system is useless.
My friend is at liberty to lay charges but the police told her the family and the culprits are known to the police and they are a retaliative family.
Another very wealthy family have 2 terrible children. The 16 year old stole his grandfather's car, took it into the country and did burnouts and doughnuts and then rolled the car (no seatbelt) and escaped with a broken nose. The father paid a tow truck driver not to tell the police and laughed as he told a friend who is also an acquaintance of ours. Next day he bought a new ute for the grandfather which the 16 year old is allowed to use.
If this is the level pf parental responsibility, what hope?
We could go on, couldn't we? There are many tales. But I just have to have hope that the kids I see at my grandson's school, who are mostly all sweet and well brought up children, will go part way to saving the world from the likes of those other kids. Hope is everything...
Great post.
I find it deeply disconcerting that people will chuck no end of rubbish out of their vehicle 'to keep the car tidy'. 🙄
I have never dropped litter in my life. I STILL feel guilty for a sweet paper blowing out of my pocket one day when I pulled out my hankie. It was a windy day and it blew straight into a river, with no way of getting it back. It was over 35 years ago and I still remember how absolutely dreadful I had felt about it.