American society is one of the most wasteful in the history of the world. Since the beginning of time, man has been able to use the almost infinite resources of this world to better himself and others. Included in this is the amazing ability of humans to adapt and invent and innovate.
We have gone from walking to riding horses to carriages to motorized vehicles. Graduating from open fires to furnaces has enhanced our lives. Food, once grown by each family, now flies off the grocery shelves, grown, harvested and produced by others. All kinds of examples can be given about the progress humans have made since we lived in caves and fought with spears and arrows.
Pioneers carved out of a wilderness the American way of life. We have produced goods and services that make our life easy, compared to our ancestors. Yet what have we done with that abundance? Have we used well our resources, our “stuff” we have acquired?
One study done a few years ago, estimated that Americans waste around 40% of the food we buy or grow. And we think little of it. Look at our own lives. How many of us have food in our freezers that were bought in the last century? When we finally get around to cleaning out the refrigerators and freezers, do we think of the waste that has been? When we realize that much of the third world nations have little to spare when it comes to sustenance, it becomes a pity that better distribution of resources is not done. When Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) wrote “An Essay on the Principle of Population”, in 1798, he posited that human population would outgrow the planet’s ability to feed itself bringing on war and famine. This theory has been debunked, and today the earth can produce an abundance of food for its inhabitants.
But food is not the only item that has been wasted. This week, in a short drive from Paris to Marshall in Illinois, we saw what has become a staple of rural areas in most of America. In one field, there were three tractors sitting amongst the weeds and other detritus — a Ford, an Allis Chalmers and a John Deere. All were of “ancient” vintage, but in their heyday were considered the state of the art. Expensive at the time of their purchase, they were discarded as out of date and not usable for modern farming.
Other farm implements were seen in other places — plows, discs, combines among a host of different tools for farming. So many have been left to rust, just eyesores along the rural highways. Automobiles were also derelicts, some old and covered in rust so that the make and model are hard to determine. Valuable at the time when new, now they just sit as testament to the “use ’em up and throw ’em out” attitude many people now have. Speaking of cars, what does one couple need with ten vehicles? I know of one such, who have that many in their yard, but only two people to drive them. Most, I suppose, can run, but they just sit in disuse alongside the discarded tractor and other implements of the past which have outlived their usefulness.
In other societies, what we would think of as antiques are preserved, repaired and passed down to the next generation. Although I would not advocate becoming a communist nation like Cuba, they, because of policies which deprive their people of a thriving economy, are still driving cars and trucks from the 1940s and 1950s. Backyard mechanics, once a staple of our land, keep those old but still useful machines running. We have a much advanced economy, but the attitude of getting the full use of what we have would slow the throwaway aspect of our more “modern” society.
In addition to the above, in our small community there are several derelict dwellings that just sit empty, many of them trailers. Once they held families who lived, loved and were a part of the area. But now they sit empty, a shell of what they had been, with no one to own them or care for them anymore.
But more than the things we toss away are the people who are no longer wanted or useful in our society. We see this in the nursing homes, where some have been resident for years, yet no one comes to visit them as they are forgotten. Many have been valuable participants in the social and economic life of the community, but what has been experienced or learned through many years of life is cast aside. Those who care for these do yeoman work, but can only keep many comfortable in their old age.
As (Executive) Vice President of our local retired teacher’s association I see this waste first hand. At our four yearly meetings, men and women who have spent decades in the classroom come to visit and remember with former colleagues. Assembled are those who represent hundreds of years of service to the area’s students, yet many are never asked to contribute some of that expertise to the present day.
This is seen in families today. As the older generation gets into their later years, how many of us make time for them in our lives? Do we ask them, at the least, to recall for us their experiences, their memories of times gone by? If we would, stories of the past would be preserved, at least in family lore. And this would give older members of our families a sense of worth as they face declining health and energy.
I am not sure what the purpose of this essay is. I am not so egotistical as to think that one screed would impel the masses to quit wasting material and human assets. But perhaps we need, on a personal level to assess how much we are a part of the throwaway society and resolve to do our part to preserve that which once was an important part of our lives. Food, machines, houses, people are not to be used up. Recycle if possible, preserve if practical, and hold fast to the principal that if we do not use something, we lose that something.