Is there a huge sign somewhere along a major metro-Atlanta roadway that says “City Dump?” Is it like the “Big Chicken” or some other famous landmark that I’ve neglected to notice in my five years as an Atlantan? I didn’t think so. But there has to be something telling the population here that it is OK to be a total pig and use this beautiful city as their own personal dumpster. Don’t you sometimes look around at the piles of debris and think to yourself “Third World country?”

When asked what I miss most about my home-town of Minneapolis, Minnesota, I always reply, “the pristine streets and natural lakes” (vs. the mud-hole reservoirs that they pass off as lakes down here). Perhaps it’s the quirky populist-sometime socialist-attitude up there that promotes communal responsibility towards the environment.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a conservative through and through and cringe at the thought of any more government regulation in our lives. But, really this is just a matter of good breeding. Didn’t your mama teach you how to use a garbage can?

I have sat countless times behind drivers who nonchalantly discard gum, fast food wrappers, even coffee cups out the windows of their cars. My favorite offenders are the smokers who flick butts out so their cars don’t smell smoky. Here’s a tip--quit smoking and your car won’t smell like crap. Spare the rest of us your habit and put it in the ashtray…do cars even come with ashtrays anymore?

Then there are the hard-working illegals from south of the border. I’ve seen these guys throw 32-oz Quick Trip tumblers and multiple Burger King bags out the windows of their overloaded vans doing 50 mph. Perhaps it’s cultural. Have you ever been to Mexico City? Well, neither have I, but my guess is that it’s highly polluted. Therefore, I won’t hold them to the same standard.

No, this is a cross-cultural, multi-class phenomenon. Many a Lexus and other sub-tier luxury car have also been caught in my cross-hairs. Which leads me to wonder if the real problem is simply arrogance? Is it more of the “me-centered” junk that the boomers started and the same BS that continues to pervade all aspects of society? “My personal comfort is more important than common courtesy to others?” That sort of thing? I don’t know.

So what to do? I’ve retired obscene gestures from my repertoire, which leaves shame. Maybe a simple tsk-tsk with the index fingers as if to say, “I saw what you did, you jerk.” We need to bring back those great PSA’s from the 1970’s starring the Native American in full gear shedding a single tear, asking us to “Keep America Beautiful.” I mean what greater guilt than a proud Indian reminding us that not only did we take their land, now we treat it like sh-t. Alas I have to be content seeing the bright orange smocks of prison details gathering trash at the side of the road. A great use of our tax dollars albeit only a reactive approach to an ongoing problem.

So next time you see someone ditching their trash, give them a stern shake of the head and maybe just maybe they’ll catch your eye and re-think their slovenly ways.