Don't be a dunderhead

I was reminded the other day of a TV commercial from the 1970's. Some of you will remember it as well. There was this old Indian chief in a canoe, paddling down a beautiful river. The farther he went down the river, the more trash you could see strewn in the water and along the shore. When he pulled his canoe up onto the shore and looked out over the garbage-laden landscape, you could see a tear in his eye as he turned back toward the camera.

If my memory serves me correctly, this was about the time that the nationwide "Pitch In" campaign was in full swing. Today our TV sets bring us an updated version of the 1970's anti-litter campaign and slogan. Country music stars sing catchy tunes as we are reminded to "Don't Mess With Texas".

I will never understand what makes a person throw their trash out the car window, or on the ground as they are walking down the sidewalk. I have even seen people carelessly throw a coke can or candy wrapper on the ground when there is a trash can just a few steps away. Perhaps they didn't have the benefit of being raised by respectable parents who taught them the difference between right and wrong, between responsible and irresponsible behavior. Or perhaps they are just total jerks who don't care in the least about how their actions affect other people.

Most of the dunderheads who are too lazy and irresponsible to put trash where it belongs, probably don't take the time to read newspapers, either. I mean, reading is such a waste of time when there is so much TV to watch and beer to drink (belch). But just in case there are a few of you who accidentally read this article, let me fill you in on a little clue: YOU ARE AN ADULT NOW, SO ACT LIKE ONE!

Not only should you be acting responsibly, you should be teaching your children to act responsibly as well. I would almost be willing to bet that you don't allow your kids to leave their toys and books and garbage lying all over the house and then expect YOU to pick up after them. Get a clue! Who do you think is going to pick up the trash that you throw on the ground?

Next time you are driving home from Dallas, take the exit for the Highway 287 Bypass, and then take the cloverleaf exit to 287 Eastbound. As you make your way around the circular exit, look out your window on both sides of the road. There are beer cans and bottles, fast food wrappers, and no telling what else, scattered everywhere. Who is supposed to clean up that mess? That road doesn't belong to just you, so what gives you the right to trash it?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those liberal environmentalist wacko-types who thinks we should save the baby whales but it's OK to kill the baby humans in abortion clinics. I don't support efforts such as the blocking of construction on a much-needed school in central Texas just because building the school would alter the habitat of some nearly-extinct cave bug. Give me a break! Our kids are way more important than cave bugs! People always take precedence over animals and trees. (That strange idea comes straight out of the Bible, Genesis chapter 1). So I'm not coming from somewhere out in left field. I just think that we have a responsibility to take good care of what God has given us, instead of trashing it.

If you are one of the ones who has helped to trash the 287 exit, I've got an idea. I'll get a clean-up crew together, bag up all that mess, and then dump it in your living room some Saturday night while you're drinking beer and watching the fights. Something tells me that you would suddenly become very irate at the nerve of someone dumping their garbage on your turf. Then you keep your garbage off of everyone else's turf! Sound fair?

Whether it's "Pitch In" or "Don't Mess With Texas". Whether it's an old Indian chief or some hot new Country music star. The message is the same today as it was twenty-something years ago. Keep your trash to yourself!

Paul O'Rear is just an ordinary guy who lives in Waxahachie.