I Blame Leaf Blowers
As I was sweeping up the grass clippings from the sidewalk today after mowing and edging my lawn, I thought once again about the one new tool that epitomizes the new American ethic. The ruination of our culture came about not with the advent of hip hop, not with the legalization of abortion, not even when the goverment included Ken Keasey in their LSD research project. Not when reality TV became the rage nor when either Clinton or Bush took the Oath of the Presidency.
No, our downfall started when Home Depot placed their first order for a gazillion leaf blowers.
For only $29, we can simply blow our trash into our neighbors' yards or down the nearest storm drain. Doesn't this seem to be the antheisis of conservative values? What ever happened to assuming responsibility for one's actions? And yet somehow, if I can afford to purchase a device that will shove my trash off my beautiful yard and let someone else deal with it, then all is well with the world.
Global warming? Sure, pal. Let's talk about it tomorrow...
Foreign oil dependency? Right. Sounds bad. I'll think about it while I am dropping $95 into the gas tank of the Suburban...
Illlegal immigration? I am definitely opposed to that. Excuse me while I pay Jose the $30 for him to split with the three other guys that just mowed my yard....Do you know what that greedy teenager down the street wanted to charge me?
So the generation that created Earth Day, Greenpeace and the EPA has gotten lazy. When I was young, it was all about leaving someplace better than you found it - whether it be a gathering of people or the camp site in the woods you discovered. Now, it is fire up the blower and blow that stuff away, I don't want to really deal with it. Not my problem anymore.