Clean up your messes following celebration
This past Friday was the Fourth of July. The parade was enjoyed by so many members of our community and the fireworks display was bright, energetic and enjoyed by all. These aspects of celebration are the ones I love; when our small but loving Kona community has the opportunity to gather, celebrate and share our enthusiasm.
The part that I do not love is what you see the morning after — downtown Kailua-Kona, the street in front of Lowe’s and many other popular fireworks viewing and lighting locations are ruined with remnants that were left behind without guilt.
I am a recent high school graduate, and consequently, inspired by humankind; the great artistic masterpieces of Michelangelo, the mathematical theorems of Euclid, and the technological innovations of Steve Jobs shed light on just how miraculous and incredible humans are. Then something like the aftermath of the Fourth of July comes along to question the spectacular nature of our species.
How can so many people celebrate and set off fireworks in public places and along public roads and then consciously be able to leave all the garbage they created to litter our community without any remorse? It makes me question how far humankind has really come.
With so much talk about saving the environment and bettering our communities, it seems that cleaning up one’s own messes would have become common practice by now.
So far I have collected three garbage bags of trash near where I live, but next year I may not be here to clean up others’ messes.
Please leave our community spaces as nice, if not nicer, than you find them during next year’s celebration, and it should go without saying, every day in between.
Scott Fetz
Kailua-Kona