The Pride of Ownership

Another Umatilla County Fair has come and gone.  As I drove by the fairgrounds this morning on my way to church, the ticket booth was deserted.  The grounds were empty of the crowds and many of the campers were already beginning to pack up and head back to home ~ other venues, or who knows where.  Another year, another county fair.  The local community has been abuzz with the excitement of the rodeo, the entertainment, the kids with their 4H entries, the rides, the vendors, the jams, jellies, produce, floral displays ~ all the pride of the community on display for everyone to see.  I, for one, enjoyed searching through the names of the entries of the photography and art exhibits, not to mention the home ec and gardening entries to find familiar names.  And it's always great to encounter kids I know who have raised a pig or a sheep and are standing with it flushed with pride in the livestock sheds.

But the fair is gone for another year.  What remains are the memories ~ great times with family and friends and the plans for next year.  But what I couldn't help noticing as I drove past the streets surrounding the fairgrounds were the other things fair goers left behind besides memories of good times had there:  garbage.  The parking lots were littered with paper cups, napkins, plates, just general garbage that had no place other than in a garbage bin.  Not only that, but there was litter remaining in the streets.  What had happened to community pride?

Now, mind you, I come from a family that's a bit of a stickler about litter.  Maybe it's a genetic thing.  My brother was actually voted one of the 3 most hated people in his city because of his vigilance against litter. He will go out and pain over graffiti.  He will actually take a picture of someone littering or posting an illegal sign and report it to the city so that person gets a citation.  Harsh? Well, yes, but in the 10 or more years he's been doing this, his community has become pristine and beautiful.  You have to know that the people who live there appreciate it more.  Beautiful planters have sprung up on the sidewalks where weeds used to grow.  People are picking up after their dogs.  Garbage on the sidewalk?  You don't see a speck of it anymore, but it took an obsessive vigilante to make it happen.  What has happened to the rest of us that we can't be responsible enough for ourselves to put a piece of garbage in its proper place?  I know I'm risking being labeled a fanatic here, but I strongly believe that if we can take pride in our personal accomplishments, we can certainly take enough pride in our own communities, our own shared living spaces to keep them clean.  Does anyone else out there agree with this?