For this Independence Day, we returned to the Esplanade in Boston for the Boston Pops concert and fireworks. We did it differently this year, showing up around noon and being content with being able to hear the concert by being near a speaker station and being right on the riverbank for a great view of the fireworks.
After a great day and a fantastic fireworks display (that was unfortunately clouded by a lack of wind that kept the smoke in the way of the fireworks), we turned around to see the field where we were and discovered that our fellow concert-goers had shown their love for their country by leaving their trash all around it. Add not just cups and napkins, but towels, a deck of cards, pizza boxes, and bottles. It was so disappointing to see all this trash ruining a beautiful city park on a the river after a day of celebrating our country.
It is beyond me that people can have such feelings of self-importance that they feel they can just leave their garbage on the ground for others to clean up after them. I know that it was a lot of younger people that did this, since it was where those groups were that the biggest messes were left, and it is particularly disappointing since with all the issues in this country involving pollution and the environment seem to be having some sort of an impact on people, but then something as simple as picking up after yourself is too much for them.
