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Can a Cryin' American Indian Chief Save Baja California from the Trash Dump
#21 - 0--admin--Can a Cryin' American Indian Chief Save Baja California from the Trash Dump--2007-12-22 08:28:05
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Baja California Has the Most Trash on the Floor Per Capita in all of Mexico!
by Sad Eyes Johnson
After living all over Mexico for over 15 years, I have found some lovely places to live, work, and be free. This country is really a neat place. For expatriates, there are some super places to live like Lake Chapala, San Miguel de Allende, Riviera Maya, Baja California and more.
Each of the popular expatriate communities in Mexico have their advantages and disadvantages. But when I arrived here in Baja California Mexico, I found some striking differences between here and the rest of Mexico.
- It is close to the border with the U.S.A. and that provides big advantages like buying a less expensive laptop computer.
- The cost of housing, while more than most places in Mexico, is signifantly less than living in the U.S.A. and that makes retiring a whole lot easier.
- Baja has the most trash on the floor per capita in all of Mexico.
Ouch that last one really strikes hard and hits where it hurts. Why? Because I love Mexico. I hurt to see this part of Mexico abused like this. Curious and concerned, I have been asking both locals and tourists why is this place so darn trashy.
The taco lady down the street says "The truth is I don't know. I am not like that. I know in the schools they do have some programs to teach the kids but the people just throw their trash on the floor anyway. It's true. I really don't know."
When I asked a few tourists, they say it's the poverty. But there is poverty everywhere in Mexico and it's not all this bad. Heck in Los Angeles there is poverty. Can poverty really be the reason?
And it hits me, I remember being young boy and watching Americans throwing their trash out of their window onto the freeway. The freeways were disgusting. Trash everywhere. Frankly, it made modern Baja look like a paradise. It was gross. Yes, the U.S.A. was a complete trash dump and some argue that in many other ways it still is but when it comes to trash, it has improved since those trashy days in the 1970's. So how did it change?
You see, when I was just little kid, I remember seeing the famous "Crying Indian" pollution commercial starring Iron Eyes Cody. While the actuality of Cody's Native American heritage seems to be a matter of debate, the power of this iconic commercial can not be denied and it's pro-active effect on the well being of the U.S.A. was striking.
When I watched it again, I was mesmerized into silence like I was the first time I saw it in the 70s.
Thanks to the Internet, we can still see this historic clip whenever we want. It is probably the best commericial ever made. I mean, it pained me to see litter strewn about my former home country but gratifying to know that the leaders who made this commericial had a profound effect on the U.S.A. society. Check it out yourself. Do you feel the same as I do?
Watch Now! Cryin Indian Commerical by Iron Eyes Cody |
Now, a legal resident of Mexico, I find myself in pain once again. I am suffering. I am in emotional distress. I hate seeing all this trash on the street while people just walk by it and don't even notice it's there. Don't they care? It's killing me. I need help!
But what can be done here in Baja?
- Can an Iron Eyes Cody in Mexico save Baja California from the Trash Dump?
- Will the Mexican Leadership take on the challenge?
- Will the people decide to just stop living in filth using the excuse of poverty as the reason they can't pick up that empty plastic bottle?
I think Iron Eyes Cody said it best when he said "People Start Pollution, People Can Stop It".
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