Since then, I have a difficult time passing by any type of litter without picking it up and throwing it away. If I even think about just walking by, I hear her voice asking me what sort of example I am setting. This leads me to picking up all sorts of things that I notice.
Doing so has led me to notice some patterns. If an area is clear of litter, it stays clear of larger amounts litter longer than if some small piece of litter is visible. Like seed money in a tip jar, just a tiny piece of litter seems to give people the subconscious permission that they no longer need to be as careful and considerate. Worse, the accumulating litter then makes people feel worse about the area in general, escalating the "permission" to tear it apart further.
I feel that this is the case with verbal litter as well. It is certainly one of my biggest issues with President Trump. I am not the only person to notice the immediate effect that his verbal litter had on our students just when he was originally campaigning. That only escalated when he won the nomination and then the Presidency. His careless use of terrible and hateful language has given many people the "permission" to pile on their own verbal litter into our national discourse.
Even people I know who support the President have frequently confided that they wish he would just shut up. Some will put out memes to the effect of "I didn't elect him to be nice, but to do his job" which outright admits that the main representative of our proud nation is offensive, even vile. At no point has he apologized for the garbage he spreads; he either doubles-down or claims he never did it--even though he is caught directly on video.
That kind of trash accumulates as those who see it decide that they might as well add to the pile. Meanwhile, our whole nation suffers as everyone feels worse about a national discourse that is filled with such filth and putrescence (thank you, Princess Bride, for giving me such synonyms). Although I would like to say that this will be fixed by each of us doing our part to clean up the mess left behind; it sort of feels like taking the trash out of a yard that is next to an industrial waste site.
I get that some people support the political ideas that he espouses over the other possible candidates. However, I am tired of people either covering for or completely ignoring the verbal litter that he spreads. As our President, if he does not set the right example for all citizens, how can we expect our fellow citizens to help make our nation better?