People are irresponsible. If you're one of my regular readers, I'm assuming this observation doesn't apply to you.
I was watching a gun video where the guy was talking about a place he has used for shooting over the years; where other shooters left so much shot-up trash around that the state has closed the area for a couple of months as a warning. And they might make the closure permanent because people aren't responsible.
The people who are the problem aren't going to change or learn. They never do.
If you go to a place to shoot, it's up to you to pick up your own trash. Not only that, it's up to you to pick up other people's trash because they won't do it. Sure, you could say that's not your responsibility. I don't care. You need to do it anyway. Or plan on losing your favorite shooting spot.
Personally, I dislike shooting ranges. But ever since my mom's cousin sold his farm, that's my only option until I hit it rich and can buy my own land.
Near my home in Colorado, there were huge expanses of BLM land. There were two specific places where I would go to shoot. And so would lots of other people. I always picked up my own stuff before I left. Of course, other people didn't do the same. So when I finished shooting I would spend time picking up their junk, too. Sometimes a lot of time. I knew if the area wasn't taken care of, the feds would use that as an excuse to ban the activity. It wouldn't have been my fault, but I would have suffered.
As much as I hate The State, I know that wouldn't have really been government's fault, but that of the irresponsible shooters. One type of irresponsible person or archator isn't really worse than any other. They all ruin the world for the rest of us.
No, I didn't get all the junk and trash cleaned up. That would have been impossible for one person in one day. But I always left the place better than I found it. That's always my intention, no matter the topic. Always leave things better than they were when you arrived. It's a big part of the motivation behind my writing. Spreading an understanding of liberty improves the world.
As I've mentioned before, I was an (actual) environmentalist long before I understood liberty. Understanding liberty didn't make me care less about taking care of the world. It made me care more. If I don't, who will? It's not the state's responsibility. I don't want to be taxed to fund the cleanup. It's my responsibility whether I want to face it or not. So I do.
Government doesn't really care about the environment-- it's just an excuse to control what you can do and where you can go. I've seen what passes for statist "environmental protection", and it is worse than worthless. You and I can do better, but we have to make the effort.
Face the fact that other people aren't responsible. They can't be turned responsible by punishing them. Be responsible enough that their irresponsibility doesn't hurt you more. It's more work, but responsibility is the hard half of liberty.
--
