Moving to Wise County about two years ago, I was shocked at
the amount of litter that lined the roads throughout the area. I mentioned to a
couple of people that the only other place I had ever seen so much trash tossed
about was in the Middle East (Kuwait and Iraq). Having served for a period of
almost 30 years in the Army, I realize that I tend to have a rather critical
eye for this stuff. I’ve done more than my share of ‘police calls’ in those 30
years, and last year picked up 12 bags of trash along the road where I live. I
only did about a 1 mile stretch, and then simply extended about 6 feet from the
sides of the road – in other words, I did not pick up ALL the trash, but I felt
I made a big dent in our little corner of the county.
I believe that littering reflects a lack of values, morals, and
ethics. I believe that tossing ones trash out the window is a strong indicator
of a lack of responsibility and a lack of citizenship. It’s a cycle that must
be broken and I believe that the way to break it is through educating our
young. I do not believe that teachers are the answer to all the worlds’ ills –
yet a rather famous Virginian named Thomas Jefferson thought the world of
teachers and the role they would play in maintaining a newly established
democracy. He felt so strongly in fact, that he wrote a model of education for
our young Nation, and later led the founding of the University of Virginia, a
model for higher education in post-Revolutionary America. I think then it is
only fair to Mr. Jefferson that we ensure our children learn about positive
values, morals, and ethics during their formative years. We would hope that
this is a collaborative effort, engaging both parents and teachers, but must
also understand that for some school is the only place where values and morals
will be, or can be, taught.
If we provide our children with strong values, and establish
a sense of responsibility - to community and fellow citizens - then perhaps we
can start to break this cycle of littering. When children begin to question why
Daddy is tossing the couch out of the back of the truck on the side of the
road, then perhaps Daddy will think twice; when they ask Mommy why she threw
that bag of McDonalds trash out the window, maybe she will stop and think –
after all, Wise County has a great system in place which allows us to pull up
and dispose of much of our trash and refuse just by dropping by a Convenience
Center. Some may complain that they don’t have a truck to haul the unwanted
items with, but are somehow able to haul the junk down the road and dump it in
the ‘middle of nowhere’ – which just happens to be somewhere to my neighbors
and I.
Unfortunately this is closely related to another important subject.
I’ve got a puppy that I rescued from the road. My neighbors have a pure-bred
German shepherd they rescued; we all have cats that people have just dumped out
of their cars and sped off. We’ve called Animal Control and PAWS multiple times
when we’ve passed another dog dumped on the side of the road, lost, hungry, and
scared. Without values and morals these people view a dog or cat as just so
much trash to be disposed of, which allows them to dump pets in the ‘middle of
nowhere’ and just drive off without a second thought.
I’ve been thinking about this letter since I moved here and
it has taken this long to think it through and get it written down. I was out
running around the track in Wise this evening. The trash was overflowing from
the cans, but I don’t have a problem with that, since it was actually in the
cans awaiting collection and disposal. The problem I had was along the
sidelines – the players benches were covered with plastic bottles from water
and sports drinks. Some had fallen off the benches and were haphazardly laying
in the grass – wherever that particular bottle landed when someone stepped on
it, or kicked it aside – anything but bending over and picking it up. I’ve
always been told that getting our children involved in sports helps to develop
them into responsible adults, makes them resilient, enforces values of shared
responsibility and teamwork; helps to mold good citizens. This is what I’ve
always believed and been led to believe, so I have to then believe that we
missed an opportunity when we just let our athletes wander off without picking
up after themselves. This is a fundamental. It’s called Discipline. It is
required for a fully functioning team. I think it was a missed opportunity.
I am not blaming our coaches or our athletes for the litter
problem in this County. It existed long before they came along, however, I believe
that they stand to gain by adding this little bit of discipline to the greater
program. If they help to sow the seeds we perhaps will begin to notice change
even quicker. We will not break this cycle in just a year or two; it will take
a generation, but we can make meaningful progress each day by simply doing the
right thing and asking our families, friends, and neighbors to do the same.
Respectfully Submitted,
Samuel Boyle
