by John Lenti
Like most responsible citizens, I was taught not to litter. But what about the litter we come across on our daily activity? Should we step over it? Ignore it? Or do we have a moral responsibility to pick up litter we see?
I came across the following story at Working From Home Today, a Canadian blog. It was so applicable to Puptown that I wrote its author to ask if I could share it with you. The author enthusiastically agreed:
I pulled up to the dog park to witness all of these plastic bags rolling around in the wind. A bunch of people seemed to standing there, just watching them. So I walked up to one lady. "What's with the plastic bags?"
"They blew out of the ones on the fence." She was referring to the bags of bags that generous types tie to the fence for other people to use.*
"Is anyone going to do anything about it?" I asked.
"Who, like, the City?" the lady looked confused.
"No, the people just standing there!" I replied.
"I'm not chasing a bag in the wind!" She seemed angry I'd even suggest it.
"Well, we could at least try to get some of them," I said, stomping off.
But the lady was not the worst part of the whole thing. The worst part was the four other dog owners, all men, all aged 30 - 60, who then watched me, a heavily pregnant woman, run around a field chasing bags AND DIDN'T BOTHER TO HELP. One guy even stood there and watched as a bag rolled past right him.
There are no words.
Despite the free bags, there remains an inexcusable amount of dog crap all over the park.
When I read this I immediately thought about Puptown and Margate Park. How often have we seen plastic bags rolling in the wind? Aren’t we obligated to pick them up? Everyone agrees litter is the bad, but it is not enough simply not to litter. We must also pick up litter. In this war on litter, everyone is needed.
Remember what Edmund Burke (sort of) said: "All that is necessary for the triumph of litter is that good men do nothing."
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