Final Reflection
I hate trash. I hate it with a passion so fierce that I decide what side of the street to walk down based on if there are trash bags lining the sidewalk, even if it takes me out of the way. If I have to walk next to it, I put as much distance as I can between me and all of those bags. And if someone is walking towards me on the sidewalk, they are just going to have to pass on the left because I’m not getting any closer to that curb. Seriously, it gives me the heebie jeebies. So I cringed as I was making piles and piles of stuff while packing that I had no use for, but no one else would have a use for either–more trash.
I say this because today, coincidentally, is Amazon Prime Day. A day to buy as much stuff as possible for as cheap as possible delivered right to our doorsteps. And hey, no judgement. I know that there are items that are essential to our needs, like cat litter, an electronic toothbrush or a six-pack of shower gel. But is a taco-print fanny pack really necessary in life? And how soon before that fanny pack ends up in a trash heap?
And while we’re conveniently distracted by fanny packs and pineapple string lights that will eventually end up in a landfill somewhere, our democracy has gone up in flames.
I was late with this post because I sat in horror yesterday watching the President of the United States essentially commit treason. He threw our nation’s intelligence community under the bus and gave deference to a known dictator. Then, on the commercial break, I’m supposed to digest an animated kid and his dad trying to do the Floss dance in celebration of Prime Day. It felt like I was in the Twilight Zone or the Upside Down for our Stranger Things fans.
So, I can be cool with the Russian leader controlling our head of state because I just bought a car dash cam for 70 bucks, right?
The American way of life can be so baffling. We claim the foundation of our nation is freedom–freedom to elect our leaders, freedom to compete and consume in the open market, freedom to express our concerns and disappointments with our elected officials, policies and citizenry. And when we’re finished with all of these things, when we feel they no longer serve our interests, we just toss them away into a trash pile–policies, leaders and stuff alike.
Is this freedom?
I’m just going to sit over here and have my own existential crisis. You’re welcome to join me.
