Don't Look Behind The Curtain

Every Saturday there is a routine that is followed here at the old homestead. I have no doubt that everyone has a similar routine. Your routine may not fall on the same day as mine but I am sure there is a routine on some other day of the week that mimics mine. The routine is almost a ritual to post-consumerism. It is a routine that every person who partakes in should be ashamed of. Every Saturday that I do this chore I continue to wonder how my family has managed to amass so much garbage.

After I sort out my recyclables I begin to fill large black garbage bags with items that cannot be reused. These items almost always seem to be used wrappers, packages, broken household items, let me stop there. I do not need to tell you what you throw in the garbage, you do it every day. The point I want to make is not about what we throw away or even how much we throw away. I want to talk about hypocrisy.

The public is constantly told to conserve energy. Turn off lights, change to energy star rated light bulbs and electrical equipment, car pool, use public transportation, recycle, use water restrictive shower heads and toilets, turn up our thermostat on our air conditioners, turn our heat down in the winter, the list is endless. At no point in time have I ever heard in any sort of detail equal to what I am told to do, what large corporations are doing to conserve.

I recall last summer I was on my way to Future Shop to purchase a few items. It must have been thirty degrees outside, I was thankful that my car had A/C. I parked my car and upon opening my car door I was bitch slapped by the best of what summer had to offer. I was most grateful when I stepped into Future Shop and was kindly wrapped in a coat of chilled air. I was at the store to purchase an air conditioner. As I waited for a salesman to assist me in my purchase, not that I needed assistance I have just been condition to think I need assistance by the big corporations, I watched the giant doors to the store open and close almost continuously. At the time it never occurred to me that not only have they not turned their air conditioners up a few degrees, this was highly noticeable due to the erect nipples of most of the woman, but they were allowing a vast majority of the energy spent cooling their monumental building escape into the warm outside.

I was most pleased with my purchase as I sat in front of the cooling effects of my new air conditioner. Now that I had it installed and was enjoying the fruits of my labour I figured it was a good time to read the instructions. Upon opening the first page I was informed that it was a good idea to conserve energy and turn up the temperature settings. It continued to inform me at what time of day I should and should not use it. I was shocked to have an entire chapter in this bible like manual devoted to telling me how I can save energy. If I wanted to save energy I would simply lie naked on the bathroom tiled floor, just like every other poor person in Canada. I figured I deserved it, I worked all week at a frantic pace doing physical work without air conditioning that I had no intention of conserving anything but my own personal energy.

I told you the above story only because it was that recollection that encouraged me to write this. I sit here miffed, let me be blunt, pissed that anyone should tell me how to conserve when clearly they are doing the opposite. I purchased an air conditioner at a store that was clearly not conserving anything, the package that the air conditioner came in was clearly not designed to conserve. There must have been at least five plastic bags, three plastic ties, and an arm load of Styrofoam, and a few other miscellaneous items. Let us not forget the giant box that this air conditioner came in. I think I saw a homeless man live in a box almost the same size. The damn instructions even came inside of a plastic bag and that plastic bag was inside another plastic bag.

It is the way of the rich. If you tell the poor to work hard and conserve then there will be more for the rich. The rich live off of the backs of the poor as the saying goes. I am not saying that I have the answers. I might have a few answers but not all of them. We should get the scientists who are hard at work keeping old people with stiff erections and give them the job of finding these answers. There is little doubt in my mind that large corporations are consuming more than you and I put together. When was the last time you flew in your personal jet to Paris for lunch? I am told to use public transportation to decrease my carbon emissions. Can you recall the last time a monster truck or NASCAR competition was canceled so they could conserve carbon emissions? We are told to sacrifice but I have yet to see any corporation or the super rich do any sort of the same.

I do not want people to increase their carbon footprint; in fact I want people to conserve even more. Most humans live far too high on the horse. Our standard of living is far too high for the earth to continue supporting. Perhaps I should rephrase that. We as the human race need to redirect our efforts away from frivolous things and redirect them into maintaining or increasing our standard of living while not only minimizing the destruction of the earth but improving the health of the planet. Corporations are concerned with how much money they can make not with the destruction they cause. If you doubt me then I encourage you to take half of your pay cheque every week and use it to plant trees. Can’t do it can you. I made my point.

Consumers are far too brainwashed, yes this mean you stupid, to ever raise enough of a protest to stop giant corporations from destroying our planet. It does not matter how many pop cans you recycle, corporations pollute far more than we can ever save. We piss and moan and pretend that we are doing good but your stupid ass still returns to Wal-Mart or Future Shop or some other store to purchase their over priced earth killing products.

There are far too many idiots in this world who doubt that ecological destruction of our planet is occurring. I say to them go pee in your pool and have a swim. Perhaps that is not enough of a visual for these low witted morons. Every morning I encourage them to pee in their fish tanks. Envision that their great grandchild in one of those cute little fish. How many times do they have to pee in the fish tank before their grandchild dies?

Go recycle your pop cans and newspapers and stand proud in the knowledge that you have done your fair share of saving the planet. Afterwards go watch TV with all of the other sheep. We are all being herded to the gates of ecological destruction by the infallible corporations.

Don’t Let The Terrorists Win; question our leaders and and their methods of conservation.