“Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bands.”

 –Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Jay (Aug. 23, 1785)

To the Editor:

It’s that time of year again: DOT Trash Season. The unnatural season of the year in which our NCDOT becomes the biggest litterer in the state! How is this so, you may be asking? 

It is because our DOT turns a small amount of easily removable litter into incalculable amounts of mostly irretrievable litter by not picking up the trash on the sides of our taxpayer-funded roads before mowing it into a million pieces. Maybe we could hire all the teachers assistants back with the fine the DOT would face?

How environmentally and fiscally lazy! We have 546,918.02 people unemployed in our great North State (5.5 percent unemployment, April 2015, multiplied by our US Census Bureau estimated N.C. population from 2014) so there are plenty of citizens in need of work who might love the opportunity for a state job walking the roads picking up litter out in our glorious state. 

Now, I do know that the DOT does provide bags for citizens to use to pick up litter and the DOT will pick the bags up. I also know that all county sheriffs place incarcerated citizens on our roads occasionally to remove litter (although this seems to not have happened for many months in Jackson County). 

I do not understand why my fellow citizens litter at all, never have. I myself stop on the roadside multiple times per week to pick up trash. I remember speaking with a juvenile male who wants to go to Mars when he “grows up.” While telling me this, he stated that we (earthlings) think we have the best planet, but it’s not the best because so many people disrespect it by littering.

I asked him if he and his parents ever stopped and picked up litter. His whole posture and expression went from happy and adamant to sad, and he said: “No, we’re always in too much of a hurry.” This is so sad. He probably learned to not like littering from his parents who are then simulta-neously teaching him to not act, to not walk his talk, to just continue complaining.

I guess trickle down theories do work when it comes to litter.

Curt Collins

Cullowhee