if my father had ever caught me spray painting a statue, a picnic table, or even a rock, i would have been punished, and humbled…reminding me of how small i was on this grand sphere we call earth. and that would not have been a bad thing. because i needed to learn to respect not just the planet, but also the people hanging on to the big blue ball in orbit.
sure i did some dumb things in my childhood, but i never defaced anything with spray paint. i had common sense, which does not seem to be too common anymore.
this morning, since it was the coolest morning in a month, i headed out onto a popular rail trail to hike for awhile. parking along a one lane gravel road, i hiked in to one of the more remote sections, which was covered in a canopy of trees, until i came to the entrance to a half mile tunnel…
twenty years ago, there was no graffiti on the front walls, and certainly not on the rocks nearby…
the magnificent tunnel, arching high above me, stretched forward, into the dark. but even into the darkness, graffiti on the walls, and empty spray paint cans on the graveled floor, assaulted my senses. thankfully no one appeared to be tall enough to insult the upper walls and ceiling high above me…
years ago, there were a few random pronouncements, mainly from some machoistic boys bragging about their sexual conquests with various girls. now, all manner of garbage defaced the walls of this historic tunnel.
what i want to know is who are these idiots disrespecting America’s natural and historic treasures? are these the masses who were never disciplined, who were never taught the meaning of respect, who never saw value or worth in human beings, nor in anything God created?
surely, these are the signs of a perverse and wicked generation, one destined for self-destruction…unless they are confronted with reality.