The Irony of It All

Last week for Earth Day I posted a fairly abrasive post about how much I *LOATHE* Earth Day...not because it's a bad idea, but because it was a good idea that turned into a yuppy rallying cry. It was a great idea that turned into a cause du jour, and we all know what happens to causes du jour...they get replaced by new, more trendy causes. Remember all those poor whales in the 90's? The CFC's in the 80's? Yeah, who cares, now we have to worry about global warming, carbon footprints, swine flu, and a whole slew of fun new causes.

So anywho, I took down this particularly abrasive post, but apparently not before a number of folks read it. And to my surprise, noone thought I was a big *B*. Apparently a number of folks feel like I do; that Earth Day was a great idea before it turned into a giant money making racket for large corporations. Wow.

Apparently I'm not the only person who thinks it's stupid for folks to brag about recycling yogurt cups when they waste, destroy, bastardize and abuse the Earth every other day of the year.

Apparently I'm not the only one sickened by folks who'd rather spend 12$ on a bottle of eco-friendly, over-priced cleaner instead of 2$ for a box of baking soda and a gallon of vinegar.

Apparently, I'm not the only one who feels that the problem is how we're living, not what we're buying.

Yeah, this is a cynical post. It disgusts me to hear folks brag about living locally and seasonally when they're too good to bend down and get their hands dirty. It's too hard to plant a tomato, so they'll go to the market and argue with some poor farmer about the prices he charges for the tomatoes he's been laboring over for months. They'd be too embarrassed to drive an old car, so they trade it in every 12 months; they don't want the neighbors to think they're poor, you know? And use vinegar to clean instead of Enviro-Wash? Oh no, the vinegar would be too strong for their delicate noses and sensitive hands. I could go on.

Instead, I'd just like to offer a warm thanks for all the kind words, and hugs to all the other poor saps like me who hate that a great day has fallen prey to marketing, just like Christmas and Easter. And finish with this, the final thought in my Earth Day post...before you go out and buy that ridiculously priced cleaner, reusable bags- courtesy of China child labor, and trade in your old (fill in the blank) for a new (fill in the blank), ask yourself why you're doing it. If noone was watching, what would you do?