I have a cute little yarn shop in the downtown of my city. Next door to me is an alternative religion store that I and my family have nicknamed "The Ching-Ching Store". There are days that we can hear them 'drumming' for peace through the walls (brick walls). The people that work there have all manor of eco-friendly, men-hating, i'm a goddess, leaf-licking, tree-hugging bumper stickers on their cars. They have psychic readings and meditation and healing stones and organic pork (raised on the owners farm, which I have heard people commenting, as they pass my store's open door in the summer, on how they can't believe they sell meat in that store. *gasp*), etc. They, also, have the audacity to have a sign on their doors that reads: "Limited hours due to the Bush/Cheney depression". No lie.
So we share a 'yard' in the back of our stores. Here's where the hypocrisy begins. The people that own the store rent the upstairs apartment. There is a dumpster in the back yard used by both the store and the apartment. However, it gets very full and their garbage falls out and wafts over to my yard. Empty cigarette packs, empty sport drink bottles, cardboard box pieces, various other pieces of garbage, etc. You get the idea. It never gets picked up unless I pick it up. They, also, never cut their small swatch of grass all summer. Not that that is environmentally bad...it just looks so sloppy. The fence around their A/C unit is all a shambles...they just do not take care of anything.
How are they so enlightened? How are they so environmentally friendly when their yard looks like this? Remember, I get to share the mess, since part of this is my yard too. I'm honestly waiting to see if they pick it up. If not, I'll have to clean it, as usual.
Total hypocrisy. It's trendy to be enviro-conscious. But, when it comes down to brass tacks and the rubber meets the road. How many of them really are?
I don't label myself. I just live it. I, even in my ultra-conservative/non-liberal/non-bandwagon jumping/live for only ONE God instead of many lifestyle, know how to pick up trash.
It's called stewardship.
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Please do not judge all alternative religion persons by those you see there, most of us are reasonable adults who do know what stewardship is and abide by it.
ReplyDeleteGood point. I don't judge all alternative religions by these people. However, I know others judge all Christians by one or two representatives...just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteAnd honestly the fact that they are alternative religion has very little to do with the hypocrisy I speak of. They are the ones that advertise how 'enviro-conscious' they are....and they seriously miss the mark in their every day life. At least the small part I can see.