Philadephia Filthdom
I love the city of Philadelphia. I really do. Kind of in the same way I love beagles.
We did a less than 24 hour "in and out" jaunt to Philly this weekend. Among the highlights: Reading Market, Monk's Belgian Brewpub, the Morning Glory breakfast joint, a Painted Bride modern dance performance Saturday night followed by an after-party close to midnight Caribbean dinner with Flying Fish brews, and perusing the Italian market Sunday morning with a delightful side visit to Whole Foods. Great! Plus, a wonderful Italian place, whose name escapes me, for a Saturday night early dinner with Lina where we enjoyed exquisite pasta dishes and good wine. Simply lovely...
But, sometimes you have to say hard things to those you love. Philadelphia is one dirty, disgusting, and trash-ridden city. Everywhere we went and walked, there was trash and debris strewn about. When I worked at Glen Mills Schools as a teacher and counselor for juvenile delinquents, there used to be a saying along the lines of "a clean unit indicates good norms." The physical condition was indicative of something greater ethically. This kind of lines up with the 'Broken Window" theory espoused by James Q. Wilson.
The criminal element pays attention to others paying attention. Trash on the streets sends the message that people don't care about their physical space and extends an unspoken invitation to dirty the moral world. I would not go as far to say that "cleanliness is next to godliness" type of thing but neither do I discount the idea that the physical plane and the moral plane intersect on issues like cleanliness at some level of congruence.
People who don't have the self-discipline to hold onto their garbage until coming to a proper place to get rid of it are lazy, selfish, and indolent; all precursors to greater psychological and social dysfunctionality. One time I heard inner city people in Lancaster got ticked because white church kids on "service projects" came into the hood and picked-up trash. Maybe it is fair to critique that effort as "whitey trying to do righty" but my piece was this: Then clean up your own damn neighborhood. Geez, get a broom and bucket and get to work and shut your trap.
Philadelphia has a lot to offer. It needs to put its best foot forward; that foot has some wonderful features. But, when putting its best foot forward, it better not be punting a wad of trash onto my trousers.
We did a less than 24 hour "in and out" jaunt to Philly this weekend. Among the highlights: Reading Market, Monk's Belgian Brewpub, the Morning Glory breakfast joint, a Painted Bride modern dance performance Saturday night followed by an after-party close to midnight Caribbean dinner with Flying Fish brews, and perusing the Italian market Sunday morning with a delightful side visit to Whole Foods. Great! Plus, a wonderful Italian place, whose name escapes me, for a Saturday night early dinner with Lina where we enjoyed exquisite pasta dishes and good wine. Simply lovely...
But, sometimes you have to say hard things to those you love. Philadelphia is one dirty, disgusting, and trash-ridden city. Everywhere we went and walked, there was trash and debris strewn about. When I worked at Glen Mills Schools as a teacher and counselor for juvenile delinquents, there used to be a saying along the lines of "a clean unit indicates good norms." The physical condition was indicative of something greater ethically. This kind of lines up with the 'Broken Window" theory espoused by James Q. Wilson.
The criminal element pays attention to others paying attention. Trash on the streets sends the message that people don't care about their physical space and extends an unspoken invitation to dirty the moral world. I would not go as far to say that "cleanliness is next to godliness" type of thing but neither do I discount the idea that the physical plane and the moral plane intersect on issues like cleanliness at some level of congruence.
People who don't have the self-discipline to hold onto their garbage until coming to a proper place to get rid of it are lazy, selfish, and indolent; all precursors to greater psychological and social dysfunctionality. One time I heard inner city people in Lancaster got ticked because white church kids on "service projects" came into the hood and picked-up trash. Maybe it is fair to critique that effort as "whitey trying to do righty" but my piece was this: Then clean up your own damn neighborhood. Geez, get a broom and bucket and get to work and shut your trap.
Philadelphia has a lot to offer. It needs to put its best foot forward; that foot has some wonderful features. But, when putting its best foot forward, it better not be punting a wad of trash onto my trousers.
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