Sunday, June 10, 2007

Litterbugs

There seems to be little difference between the contemporary 'Kiwi' adult and children when is comes to insisting on good behaviour with consideration for the environment and for the sensibilities of fellow citizens (and fellow creatures for that matter). One can understand children being resentful at times after being censored. Children are naturally thoughtless and most of them get used to adults in the family cleaning up their messes after them. For them, reasonable behaviour is a gradual learning process, working with their expanding view of life and sense of fairness.

How much should 'society' insist on good, considerate behaviour in adults as well as children, toward the things that have to do with the public good? I ask the question because the general insistance here in this country seems to grow weaker and weaker under the influence of the media, lawyers and human-rights and privacy advocates. The government itself has proclaimed that one should not insist that users of electic power be cut off if they don't pay their bills. Those who do pay will now probably have extra to put up with higher cost to 'carry' those who don't pay. But I don't want to digress further into that. The littering of streets here in this city seems to be getting worse month be month. There are large containers of rubbish as well as masses of smaller bits dumped on grass verges, and more and more derelict, abandoned cars appear round the suburbs. I appealed to the local (free) newspaper, but it seems to be uninterested in tackling the problem. I offered to pose beside a large box of dumped rubbish with Rex, the dog I walk with most days. I thought it would be a good point to make that while the council and media 'nag' a good deal - justifiably - over people not 'picking up' after their dogs, and the fines can be stiff, nothing much is done about the dumping of rubbish everywhere - it is hardly commented on. Even if it is hard to 'police', it would surely be a good thing to put mild offenders with ankle bracelets who don't need to be kept in prison, onto the job of cleaning up the streets.

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