To the Editor:
As we continue to return to the 1950s with the return of the current president, we must “unlearn” what we learned in the era of Betty Crocker, with her recipes and handy suggestions for women, always dressed for success while making and serving meals for husband and children. If you don’t remember that time of housewifery freneticism, you are, well, lucky.
Currently we are meant to unlearn that non-degradable plastic straws are a danger to the oceans and the creatures within them. We didn’t know that in the 1950s. But we do now. The president tells us that the plastic straws are better because they “feel good” upon use. The shark, he says, will not be affected by the indestructible plastic floating through the ocean, as the shark “munches” its way through the water. What is the logical outcome of this unlearning? Now eco-friendly paper straws are forbidden in all federal agency buildings. The White House staff secretary is also excited about returning to plastic straws. He pointedly tells us that consumers “all over the country are wildly dissatisfied with their straws.” If you can be “wildly dissatisfied” with a paper straw you have more issues than the straw. But probably the primary reason the current president is so happy with his ability to excise life as we know it today, is that once again, his presidency allows him to really fire people, not the fake firing that he performed on his defunct television show.
Mark Twain says it best: “The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.”
Karla Alwes
Locke
