Friday, July 29, 2011

Litter, litters everywhere

As I was driving home yesterday enjoying the natural beauty of the rural road I was suddenly struck by a stretch where the grass had just been cut. It was now visibly strewn with litter that people had obviously tossed from their vehicles, seemingly without giving it a second thought. It made a lightening bolt impression on me: litter covering the shoulders of the road and litters of unowned, unwanted kittens - all as a direct result of communities and their shelters not having the proper programs in place. It's hardly an original thought, I know. But for some reason the parallel really hit home with me, seeing the mess left behind by people - both on the sides of the road and in cities, towns and countryside where kittens are born to live a life on the streets, in many cases succumbing to illness, predators or ultimately being destroyed at a shelter because there just isn't enough room for any more. Each situation is a 'people problem'; each situation so easily rectified if everyone would just take responsibility for their own actions. I know many will say I'm oversimplifying the problem but if you take a long, hard look at it, isn't it really just as simple as people being accountable?