Thanksgiving has happened so now America shops for
Christmas. Well, I don't, but it seems
like everyone else does. The economy
depends on it. It seems to me there has
got to be better ways to base economies than just accumulating stuff. I'm more inclined to give home cooked
food. People eat the cookies or
whatever and they aren't burdened with more things to cram into their houses or
landfills.
I recently lectured a couple of my friends about buying kids
too much plastic. I felt guilty afterwards
as both friends are enthusiastic grandmas who want to spoil their grandchildren
-- but maybe they are exactly the kinds of people I should lecture about
plastic?
Think about it, we ship oil across the world to be turned
into plastic in a third world country, or we buy oil from the Middle East with
its problems, before shipping it to the third world country. Making the plastic is a toxic mess that gets
into the air and water, poisoning the underpaid workers and getting into the
global environment. Once the
all-important plastic stuff is created, it's shipped back around the world
where it will be used for a short time before it's thrown away. This doesn't even factor in the excessive
plastic packaging, or the trees that are cut down for all the Amazon shipping
boxes, or the fact that there are oil spills and other mistakes that dump
plastic in the oceans.
When I visit the homes of people with children, I'm amazed
at the amount of stuff little kids have.
It's crazy. The kids don't even
play with all that stuff. One family
has a couple of T-ball stands in the back yard. I watched the boys have a good time whacking plastic balls with
plastic bats. That's nice, except I
drove home and thought about the old days.
T-ball was a wooden post nailed to a wooden X base. The ball was leather stuffed with who knows
what, rat fur as far as I know.
Renewable resources at any rate.
The kids learned to hit the ball, then they didn't need the T
anymore. The wood was used for
something else or it returned to the Earth by rotting in the backyard, but the
plastic T, bat, and ball exists forever and probably end us in a bird's
stomach.
I know, I know, some of you adore Christmas shopping. You love spoiling the kiddies. I know nobody wants to be lectured. At the same time, can I suggest that you buy
more Earth-friendly gifts? Cuddling a
kid on the couch and reading a book together is good. Every kid (and adult) loves cookies. Maybe you could make a snuggly stuffed animal or blankie for
them? I'm not anti-gift, I'm just
trying to stop people from giving their kids their weight in plastic every
year. Give them experiences and
memories. Take them to the zoo or make
crafts together.
I did this Christmas art for the Mensa Bulletin's December
issue. It doesn't have much to do with
"brain" other than encouraging people to use their brains a little
differently when shopping. Illustration
Friday has forgotten the meaning of Friday in its name. Oh well, if they don't follow the rules that
frees me up to ignore the rules too, right?
I hope everyone has a happy, cookie filled, plastic-free
holiday season!
