To the editor:
While we remain under various stay-at-home orders, many are being expanded, and many of us are finding our normal freedoms taken away. Given that we started with some fairly basic limits, what happened? The answer is the Age of Entitlement.
We, as a society, have lost all concept of the “Greater Good,” and we are no longer willing to delay gratification for anything we want. The latest list of closures includes the Pisgah National Forest. The entire National Forest. It is now illegal to be on Forest Service roads or trails in any capacity whatsoever outside of some particular exemptions.
Why did this happen?
A recent news article from the Asheville Citizen-Times highlights the issues currently plaguing the trail system. In essence, parking lots and trails are overcrowded, trash cans are overflowing with fast-food waste, and human waste is being left out in the open near the trails since the restrooms are closed.
The only explanation for this is the entitlement, and unfortunately, during a pandemic, we all need to be thinking greater good. If you wanted to hike a trail, but the parking lot was full, maybe the right thing to do is come back later or another day.
If you got McDonald’s to eat on the way and the trash can at the trail is full, maybe the right thing to do is to take your trash from your meal to another trash bin. Perhaps one at your own home. And as far as the human waste being left in the open, all I will say is we, as a people are better than that, and that shouldn’t happen. There are multiple options besides just leaving that lying around.
Until we all resume some idea of working toward the Greater Good, we are only going to see more being taken away from us. We started with a framework that left it up to us which decisions to make, and all we have shown our leaders is if there aren’t severe negative consequences for doing something, we are simply going to do whatever we want.
If we want our freedom back, we need to all relax for a bit and listen to what our governor and local leaders are asking us to do. Because right now, it’s illegal to be in one of our National Forests, and that is 100 percent because of human behavior during the past few weeks.
Matt Mazzuckelli
Bakersville