Thursday, June 17, 2004

In Search Of...

Deciding to make the world a better place was the easy part.  Finding a WAY to do it was another story.
If you just walk outside and take a look around, you can see that there are plenty of things that need to be fixed, stopped or changed.  But where do you start?
I figured since I already live in New Jersey, I might as well start here.  Maybe I could even find a project that would allow me to make up for some of my past indiscretions.  But being a notorious slacker, I knew that I better choose a project I could get excited about, or I'd lose interest in no time and quit. 
It struck me on the way to work one day.  I noticed that there seemed to be more and more litter accumulating every year.  When I was a little girl it was pretty common to see bottles and trash all over the highways.  Then they started showing the 'Keep America Beautiful' TV commercials.  I loved those ads.  The ‘Crying Indian’ made us both proud and ashamed to be Americans at the same time.  Little ‘Suzy Spotless’ showed us that even children could make a difference.  There were signs, posters, catchy songs and phrases.  I knew one thing… I didn’t want to be a Litter Bug.  Their strategy worked.  America cleaned itself up.  The 'Keep America Beautiful Council' reported that by the end of their campaign, over 38 states had reduced litter by 88%, and environmental issues were brought to the attention of the American people for the first time.  I’m proud to say that as a result, my generation would never even THINK about throwing a bottle or can out of the car window to this very day.
But at some point in time, I’m not sure when, they stopped showing those commercials.  And America is once again being buried in its own trash.  I wondered if the
Keep America Beautiful’ Campaign still existed.  It does. They have an impressive web site, where you can even watch those old TV commercials.  Apparently you don’t need flashy ads and special effects to send a poignant message after all.  There were many links to other great pollution sites as well.


While browsing through one… I suddenly found… MY CAUSE...

(stay tuned to see what it is)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

And a great cause it is! I'm lucky to live in an area on Long Island where you don't see a lot of trash. We recycle too here. Don't know how Manhattan is fairing these days because I haven't been there in a number of years. I do remember those commercials and thanks for the reminder. I'll check out those websites.
Angela
: )      

Anonymous said...

Great cause! I anxiously wait to hear your plans. When I was in the Army we would go around base picking up garbage and cigarette butts. To this day I refuse to litter. Picking up all that crap taught me a lesson. Plus, it's just a matter of respect for where you live. :-) ---Robbie

Anonymous said...

That crying indian got me to too. I will try not to flick my butts anymore. Thank you!