small steps

I do not watch television, and up until a few years ago, I was one of only a few people who found this an acceptable life decision. Now many decide to spend more time putzing about on the web, than passively embibing the useless drivel found on the television. Yet, with the dawn of Hulu and NetFlix, people do not have to watch television to enjoy their favorite shows. I find it all abhorrent, because I got sick of being mind-raped with useless ads, on cable. That very concept is beguiling... Why should one pay for cable and then be subjected to ads, a form of money making usually reserved for free entertainment such as radio. One isn't subjected to ads on pay-to-listen Satellite Radio. The latter observation is beside the point. Even when watching free internet videos one is made to watch commercials intended for television. So it follows that, though I have tried hard to avoid said advertisements, I still see some garbage, and I have made too many sad observations to keep to myself. For example nearly every commercial for general products from laundry detergent to soda, to snacks, to (insert whatever peripheral product you don't think you can live without) has the same gimmicky jingle of general upbeat slightly 21st century progressive ad campaign sounds of a whistling choir, light, skippy acoustic guitar and glockenspiel. It kills me to hear this sound, and like one of Pavlov's dog, I react immediately...usually by by leaving! Because I know I will soon hear an affable female voice tell me that whichever company is peddling their wares has done so in an environmentally friendly fashion. They all have inane phrases, like "organically made" or "naturally good for you" and my favorite "it's the small things that help" (... The environment). Not to sound like a hater of capitalism or a representative of the angst-ridden young adult market, but it's a lie to say that such companies that say they are using "less materials" or "reducing their carbon footprint" are doing so out of some sense of corporate altruism rather than a poorly-concealed attempt to reduce cost.Frankly, I don't care about "saving the environment" because, I as an individual; have not committed any sins against the earth by not recycling, or drinking water from a disposable bottle (the latter of which claim to be made "responsibly" when, in reality, they have so little plastic that one can barely grip the cap and can crush the bottle without attempting to do so). The point is, that I do not dump chemicals into local bodies of water or "pollute" the atmosphere with huge smokestacks. Who likely does that? Companies that produce "recycled non-disposable" water bottles, coffee tumblers, and reuseable bags. In the long run, since the thought of litter bio-degrading at a glacial pace keeps environmentalists awake in the night, the afore mentioned products will eventually be thrown away in the very same place plastic bags are, and they will have done no good. THE END.