Growing up in the 60s, we saw anti-littering commercials, called PSAs (Public Service Announcements),on TV every day. Ask any older American what they remember about those PSAs, and they will say “The crying Indian.”
Today, they never show those anymore, and i am seeing young people littering as a result. I was recently in a fast food lot, and saw a car pull in, a young guy about 20 get out, and throw a bunch old fast food trash into the bushes, then walk into the restaurant. He passed a trash can next to the door on his way in, where he could have tossed his trash, but he just tossed it in the bushes instead.
I collected up the trash, and set it on the hood of his fancy hot rod.
I’ve seen plenty of similar examples in the last few years, because young people dont see those PSAs telling them not to, and even their parents havent been educated to teach them.
And that was the secondary effect of PSAs like the litter campaign. The underlying message was that we are all in this together, we have to live with each other, so lets try to clean up after ourselves because it benefits us all.
That message being burned in our brains at such a young age contributed to our sense of pride in America. Today, it’s just everyone for themselves.