This post is for one main purpose. I want people to ask themselves a question and then come up with their own answer. I don’t care what it is. I do think it’s something worth thinking about. It helped me gain perspective, so I figured why not throw the question out there.
Were we greener before the green movement?
The knee jerk reaction might be “Of course we weren’t!”
Then again, maybe we were. I am not going to conduct an elaborate study. I’m just not. However, I will share some thoughts
When I was a kid, we had 1 television. My friends’ families had 1 television. That’s how it was.
We didn’t have a zillion gadgets floating around the house. We had a radio. If you were lucky you had an Atari 2600. We had board games, cards, bikes, basketballs, baseball gloves and stuff like that.
Our house had one rotary dial phone connected by wire to the kitchen wall. This was pretty common.
My family used 1 car for most of my childhood. Because our money had purchasing power, we could afford to live on one income. So, my mother could spend her time with her kids. We used far less gasoline. Plus, we didn’t use as many resources because we didn’t have to buy a second car. On top of that, when people bought cars they kept them well maintained and in good condition for as long as they could.
This is old fashioned green. High quality, well built, long lasting and reusable.
My father and other men shaved with a safety razor. (I also have a safety razor and another razor that has a 4 pack of blades that will last about 7 – 8 weeks). He bought a large pack of blades that would last him for a long time. The razor was sturdy and well made. It could last a man a lifetime if he took care of it. It was simple and effective. People weren’t tossing out tons of disposable razor blades all the time.
Our house wasn’t filled with stuff. We bought what we needed. Occasionally we bought what we wanted, but our parents taught us not to be ruled by whimsy.
There was a time when the idea of an electric can opener would have been a joke. Sure, it’s a great appliance for an elderly person with arthritis. But perfectly healthy and able bodied people buy these things as if making a few turns on a manual can opener is torture. There was a day when washing dishes by hand was not laughed at or considered a punishment.
People wouldn’t have purchased a singing plastic bass that hangs on their wall. They respected money and didn’t spend $19.99 for a silly gag gadget. They were smart enough to know that money is a resource best used to provide, prepare and protect the family first and foremost. People used to forgo these impulsive purchases to set aside money for more important, fulfilling, long lasting purchases.
When people bought something, they bought quality. Then, they kept it in good condition and held on to it as long as they could. It makes sense. That’s being resourceful and it saves money. We did not have a throw-away society.
Before we started to be green, consumption wasn’t the national past time. Far fewer needless items were produced because there wasn’t a strong demand for them.
People weren’t addicted to stuff.
They were raised to be resourceful. They didn’t spend money on silly things and they did not favor disposable items.
Today, in the green age, we now…
- Manufacture more gadgets, silly items, needless items and disposable goods – Less green
- We consume much more. – Less green
- We dispose of much more. – Less green
Some Questions About Being Green
Maybe we were greener before we started to become green?
Maybe people used to know that the problem was waste and the answer was being resourceful?
Maybe if we didn’t buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have it would reduce waste and make us more financially healthy?
- Maybe if we re-used instead of recycled we could reduce waste?
- Maybe if we valued quality over quantity we could reduce waste?
- Maybe if we took care of our tools, household goods and cars we could reduce waste?
- Maybe the green movement is barking up the wrong trees?
- Maybe the answers are all just age old common sense?
- Maybe we don’t need Al Gore?
- Maybe we don’t need the government to plan our lives?
- Maybe individuals should just apply some common sense, resourcefulness, discernment, discipline and maturity. Then we could conserve a ton of resources, reduce a ton of wasted energy and materials.
This would leave us with a less polluted, more abundant, more vibrant environment. This way governments wouldn’t have an excuse to clamp down on people with oppressive taxes, regulations, rules, mandates, fees, phony carbon credits and other coercion and force.
It’s something to think about. And that’s why I posed the question. Now you can decide for yourself.
