-Isms: Views on life in rural America

I don’t pay a lot of attention to television commercials; however, one in particular will always stand out.

Picture it: a beautiful river, pastel orange sky and a rock-strewn shoreline. What viewers eventually see is a polluted river, smoke puffing out of factory stacks and garbage covering the shore.

The narrator says, “Some people have a deep abiding respect for the natural beauty that was once this country and some people don’t. People start pollution and people can stop it.”

Then, the camera zooms in on a Native American, a single tear falling down his cheek.

The Keep America Beautiful public service announcement, which debuted on Earth Day in 1971, made an impact. The call-to-action piece reminded Americans of the part they play as stewards of the land.

The commercial came to mind, Sunday, following the parade in Orchard. We noticed an area where multiple half-full plastic water bottles and a large number of empty popsicle wrappers remained on the sidewalk.

Disappointing, for sure.

One of our grandkids asked why people didn’t clean up their mess. Good question. How difficult is it to pick up trash and take it to a nearby garbage can?

Littering is a problem in every community and in rural areas. Keep America Beautiful reports that nearly 50 billion pieces of litter are strewn along roads and waterways in the United States, which calculates to approximately 152 items per US resident.

Tossing trash can have an adverse effect on communties.

Consider cleanup costs. More than $11.5 billion is spent on litter cleanup annual in this country. Think of how those funds could be put to good use. Germs and diseases can be spread through littering. Litter attracts unwanted pests. How many water bottles does it take to clog a storm sewer and distrupt drainage?

In Nebraska, liteering is a Class III misdemeanor, punishable by up to three months in prison, a $500 fine or both. Subsequent offenses increase imprisonment time and fine amounts.

All communities in our region do an outstanding job of promoting and offering ways for citizens to dispose of items, especially during community cleanup days. But ... beautification efforts only go so far when people disregard picking up after themselves, especially when it comes to littering.

We can all do better.