On Irony 07/02/2009
 

I admit that I appreciate the humor found in irony as much as the next person.  I especially love irony that borders on the absurd, you know, the kind that makes you bite your tongue so as not to squeal at the top of your lungs about the absurdity of life. One of those absurdities is the plastic shopping bag irony/absurdity.  Now let me preface this by saying that I am a true proponent of the idea that one person can make a huge impact on life/the planet/the economy (hey! I'm an optimist, remember?) by doing things in a certain way. That's great, I am all for going the extra mile to save our home.  But, one of the things that has me scratching my head is the plastic bag absurdity.  I was at the grocery store the other day and the check-out clerk asked if I would like to purchase a non-plastic shopping bag.  I told her that I wouldn't mind taking a couple (they seemed like convenient transportation bags for such things as library books).  The woman behind me then decided to educate me on the importance of saving our planet.  I agreed with her that this was indeed a noble and needed pursuit.  I noticed that she had about a half dozen of these totes in her possession (clearly she was ahead of the curve and had purchased them eons ago-or at least a couple of weeks ago).  She explained that since she passes on the entire "paper or plastic" dilemma by providing her own carry-all for groceries, she is doing her part in saving the planet.  I found it to be ironic that she had a jumbo-sized box of trash bags.  I didn't point out her plastic-waste-discrepancy but, I did find the whole interaction took on absurd proportions when she boarded her Hummer in the parking lot!  So, all this brings me to this; is it not more noble to drive a Hummer, purchase plastic bags, but carry a portion of one's organic arugula in earth-friendly totes, all the while beginning to be more aware of one's impact on the planet than it is to simply drive a Hummer, and to buy and use excess plastic bags in a clueless fashion?  I mean, honestly, is the planet not far better off to have this woman simply thinking about saving it from destruction than it is having her remain clueless? I say yes.  So, hats off to the woman that is doing her part.  Now how ironic is that?

 


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