I love and revere Mother Nature. When I was a little girl, my grandfather and father took my siblings and me for long walks in the woods and taught us about nature; Her majesty and beauty. We were taught not to litter and to give to nature by planting and nourishing. I save baby birds, bunnies and chipmunks then release them back to Mother Nature when they are ready. When I need to replenish myself, I go into my rock garden and meditate. My dream is to have acreage so that I can indulge whenever the urge strikes.
My father also taught us to conserve in other areas. When you leave a room, you turn the light off. When brushing my teeth, I wet the tooth paste, then turn the water off until I need it to rinse. I recycle, because it’s the right thing to do. I turn my thermostat down when I leave the house. It saves money yes, but that’s not the reason I do it. It’s just common sense; why heat or cool my house if no one is home? My point is, I do what’s right, because it’s the right thing to do, and I can do all this without being told to.
I’ve noticed lately that everything is GREEN. I go into the cleaning aisle and all I see are Green products. Even clothing is Green. The television is infested with commercials about going Green. I’m being bombarded with GREEN! It’s to the point I’m sick of GREEN! They are ramming GOING GREEN down my throat and I feel like I want to revolt.
I’m not a rebel. I love my country. I love nature. I want to do what I can to preserve our planet; but I can’t take being told what, when and how to do everything anymore. I don’t feel like I’m free to make any choices. This going Green feels like a Cult. And one thing I can’t handle are Cults. I’m not a Follower. I’m a Leader. I think for myself. And going Green doesn’t feel like I’m thinking for myself. There is NO proof that using Lysol cleaner is bad for the planet. There is NO proof that Green Works is better at killing germs and is better for the planet. There IS proof that plastic takes longer to bio-degrade, yet all the stores have the flimsy plastic bags. Whatever happened to the choice between paper or plastic? Now they want me to buy canvas bags and drag them to the grocery store every time. Oh that’s just great. I grocery shop once every 4-6 weeks. Do you know how many canvas bags I’d have to purchase and lug to the store! Just give me the brown paper bags that bio-degrade! Besides, I can use them for book covers for my kid’s school books or to wrap gifts or to send something to my sister in California. Yes, I improvise; again, I use my head all on my own. I don’t NEED someone telling me what to do.
Then we had Earth Hour on Saturday, March 28th. Everyone was encouraged to turn off their lights from 8:30 – 9:30. Needless to say, I didn’t participate. Why? Because I could make the CHOICE NOT TO. That may sound very immature to some, but I had to make a stand. I had to decide if I was going to be dictated to AGAIN. I didn’t revolt and turn all my lights ON. I just went about my normal daily life. We also have Earth Day. It’s been celebrated on April 22nd every year since 1970. I don’t celebrate that day, either. I don’t do anything rash like burn paint cans or anything. Again, I just go about my daily life just like I would any other day. I feel like Earth Day is a Cult, too. I am aware of our planet and I do what I can to preserve it, but I won’t become some Cult follower and believe that turning off all my lights for an hour is going to save the planet. We need to find alternative energy methods, but my lights have nothing to do with that and neither do yours. I think the government wants to see how many people will actually turn off their lights so they can see how many will follow their agenda. The next thing we know it’s a law that we have to turn off our lights for an hour every night. Sound extreme? Well, our government is extreme.
I don’t want to be defiant, but if they don’t stop ramming this stuff down my throat, I’m afraid I may become rebellious. Not an Uber! But I may rebel. I may start turning on ALL my lights just because I CAN. I may start throwing my newspaper and cans in the trash bag rather than put them in the recycle bin. That may not sound like major rebellion, but it’s the worst I could possibly do. No one would know, except me. I just don’t know if my conscience could handle it. So, at this point, they’re all just thoughts in my head that relieve a little stress.
Expressing My Freedom Of Speech
2 days ago
Good, if frustrated post, Pam. Yeah, my parents taught us good habits like that, too. It was a combination of good sense and being poor growing up.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Conservation is very important. We live in a 2700 sq ft house, so I turn stuff off behind me all the time, put on low-flow showerheads, and CFL and LED lightbulbs are in every socket.
I do none of these things because I want to everyone to know how much I care. I do it because I want to conserve and save money.
Being 'green' is just another annoying trend one awry. Remember back in the 90's the 'crystal' trend in soft drinks and other stuff? That ended when SNL made a commercial for crystal gravy. People get on these trips and they will show it ten or twenty years from now on VH1.
The only thing that I don't like about the whole 'green' thing is that green is my favorite color. Now I share it with hippies who want to show how much they care about 'GAIA' and shove it in our faces.
Great post, Pam!
Blue: Aren't parents great? I taught my boys not to litter and now I find candy wrappers in my washing machine. Pockets are great when there's no trash can around. Now if I could only get them to turn their tv's off when they're done! Boys have short term memories!
ReplyDeleteYeah, we check our kids pockets after they ruined some of my dress shirts with chapstick.
ReplyDeleteKG101 asks: "until Octo and Pamela release me ..."
ReplyDeletePamela, should we release KG101 or keep him on the Clockwork Orange diet?
Octo: Let's see how his new kinder gentler ways play out and see if he's still attacked.
ReplyDeletePamela. You do know that leaving the thermostat at one constant temperature saves energy and money, don't you?
ReplyDeleteIf you turn it down (or off) when you leave home and turn it back up when you get home, the temperature in the house goes down while you're gone, and it takes more energy to raise the temperature back up to where you set it then it does if you just leave it alone. The temperature of the house, if maintained at one select temperature, takes less energy to maintain than it does when it goes up and down all day due to constant adjusting of the thermostat.
Look at it this way: It takes much less energy and money for the furnace or air conditioner to automatically adjust itself one or two degrees all day and night than it does when you move it up or down 5-10 degrees all day, depending on whether you are hot or cold, or if you leave the house and return a few times a day.
Hi Pam, I just wanted to stop in and say hello. I hope all is fine...Stay well, see you soon.
ReplyDeleteMark: I never claimed to be a rocket scientist! So, thanks for the brief lesson. I'll keep my thermostat at a steady temperature in the future.
ReplyDeleteAmerican Girl: Nice of you to drop by. All is well on my end, thanks for asking.
mmmmmmm..... i think we have to look at the bigger picture- and i don't disagree with you- i do much the same things- 'going green' wasn't popular until the corporates saw that there was a market for it. it really is that simple. i think most folks want to do something to save the planet- and i won't get into that particular issue in this post- and the good capitalists that we are- put out consumer products to fill the niche.
ReplyDeletethe best things you can do- sound like just what you are doing: don't waste water, don't waste electric, only buy what you need, etc. i go the extra mile by composting and growing my own food- i don't raise meat though. like you, i do what is right- because it's the right thing to do. it is unfortunate that our once great nation isn't as free as it used to be- we dropped the ball and weren't vigilant citizens for a few decades- and this is what we have- a surveillance oligarchy run by a few monied elites and career politicians. we just have to do the best we can with what we have left.
I'm a New Yorker….no, not one of the Lib Elitist downstate New Yorkers. I’m an Upstater. We are conservative, we hunt, we fish, and we cling to our religion and our guns. Opening Day of deer season is a ritual like no other…all the *real* American kids skip school, grab their rifles, and go into the great outdoors with their dads to hunt. The rest of the kids go into our institutions of Big Brother Brainwashing and learn to sing Kumbaya, hold hands, cry about how the country is Imperialistic, feel guilty about having parents who make more money than the wino who doesn’t want to do a decent days work for a decent wage, etc.
ReplyDeleteNow that you understand where I’m coming from, you’ll understand my utter contempt for the way the current administration is trying to run our lives. Do I need anyone to tell me that I have to shut the light when I leave the room? No, when I moved out of my Mother's house I thought that I was done hearing that. I know that if I leave it on, it's going to cost me money so I turn it off, not because I want to be GREEN. Screw that. The same goes for idling my car. Now in New York you can get fined for idling your car for more than 2 minutes.
What the hell is going on here with this dictatorship?
I get yelled at in the Super Market if I dare to ask them to double bag a heavy item? I'm so freaken fed up with this nonsense I feel like Al Gore is my new Mother.
pammy your post reflects a rational person who respects her surroundings, created life, and a need for existence. those pushing a green agenda are not rational.
ReplyDeleteBetmo: Thanks for stopping by. Like I said in my post, I have a dream to have acreage. Not just so I can bask in the glory that is Nature, but also to plant a garden and have a horse, maybe a cow or two and some chickens, that way I’ll have all my own food. I guess what I’m saying, is I want my own farm!
ReplyDeleteRev: The government WANTS to expand from being Big Brother and Uncle Sam to Mother and Father. I want to fight it every step of the way. But once something becomes LAW, I have such a tough time, because I’m a law abiding citizen. What a conundrum. Do I follow the law or go against my conscience to make a point?
No Blog: I’m in Pa, so this is a BIG hunting state where we cling to our guns and religion, too. I know where you’re coming from. Hunting Day is like a National Holiday! Schools are closed and many businesses actually close down on the 1st day of hunting season, because so many people either call off, take sick/personal/vacation days. I can’t believe you can get fined for idling your car for more than 2 minutes! What's next, a fine for running your air conditioner for more than 10 minutes when it’s 80 degrees outside? And don’t get me started on Al Gore. He has NO scientific background. He’s a washed up politician that went off the deep end when he lost the presidency. He needs to go back to his mansion that uses more energy than 20 homes combined. He’s a hypocrite that preaches the Green agenda but doesn’t follow it. I give him no validation due to that alone.
Pat: You always manage to give me a boost and a compliment. Thank you, my friend.
"I Ain't Got No Blog" is right, thats a new law in New York.
ReplyDeleteYou can not idle your car for more than 2 minutes!
happy mother's day pammy!!
ReplyDeleteI'll never get used to all this "Green" crapola.
ReplyDeletei guess i wonder where all of the folks were when the last administration put all of the surveillance laws into effect- and the new laws where police can go into your home or car or business without probable cause. just because we can get into our car and go to work everyday and spend money as we see fit- doesn't make us free. in point of fact, the new administration repealed and did away with many of the more odious patriot act provisions and fingers crossed- the military commissions act provisions. we'll have to see if congress plays nice or the right leaning obstructionist wall decides to obstruct.
ReplyDeletei am an native upstate new yorker too- and i don't believe right or left has much to do with common sense. my dad hunted and fished- as did everyone i knew- and we grew our own food and canned and preserved. but i can also see that over the last 40 years- the republican party has held power the most- and it was during those times we hit recessions and small family farms went under- dairy farm next door to me as a matter of fact- and big businesses grew and people got poorer. that's not rocket science- it's history.
I'm just about fed up with all this GREEN crap.... I'll save where and when I want to. I don't want Al; Bore of his ilk telling me what to do and when to do it.
ReplyDeleteI’m not a rebel either, but I refuse to take part in this idiotic nonsense.
ReplyDeleteHi girl, I keep waiting on pins and needles for you to write something new. Come on get with it. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat blog , I'm glad I found it.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I hugged a tree today to do my share....lol
Great blog you have here Pam, I'll be one of your followers for sure.
ReplyDelete