I don’t know.
My friend – like many Cincinnati residents - is indignant. “What a waste,” she said, and then, “this is just another example of our throw-away culture.”
That got my attention, especially when she followed it with, “I wonder if they even recycle the steel from the old stadium?”
“Do you recycle the steel cans you use at home?” I wanted to ask but didn’t, in part because I already knew the answer – no – and in part because this friend of mine is actually my mother-in-law. It struck me then that to her there was a difference – millions of tons of rubble seems wasteful. A handful of old Campbell’s soup cans just seems inconvenient.
Then I remembered a conversation I had had with my father a week earlier. I was telling him about why he should recycle and he was defending himself, implying that recycling on a personal level is piddling business, and that if I were really concerned about the environment I would spearhead a political campaign rather than waste my time saving pop cans. Specifically, he said that I was “pissing in the ocean and waiting for the level to rise.”
He always did have a way with words. Then he decided it might be more effective to quote me, so he said, “We’re just doing what we can. Isn’t that what you said to do?”
He was referring to an earlier article I had written where I mentioned being overwhelmed by responsibility and finally decided that I just had to do what I could, and accept my limitations. I realize now the double-edged sword implicit in my words. I had meant that sometimes we need to make compromises, and that it’s best to honestly assess what you can do and do it. But apparently it sounded like, “Just do what you can,” an attitude of defeat and resignation.
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