Americans can find common ground through community cleanups on Earth Day | Opinion
Here we are in the year 2023 as citizens and creatures of the Earth. We share a blessing to call Tennessee our home. Some of us were born here with generations of stories to tell and others just put down roots hoping to blossom into a new life.
Some Tennesseans drive jacked up Hemis with a Tennessee tilt and others are eagerly waiting for their latest version of Tesla to come in.
Some Tennesseans enjoy all the fixin’s to a hearty meat and three, and others are just learning what hot water corn bread is.
Some Tennesseans want to see a new state of the art stadium for the Titans and others want to see that money spent on providing renovations to a hospital that serves the poorest among us.
Some Tennesseans wake up before dawn to care for their blue-ribbon mule in Columbia and others are walking their cherished rescue pup in Shelby Bottoms with designer coffee.
The differences are clear to see even on the dance floor, some Tennesseans love to two-step while others love to salsa to the hypnotic beat of reggaeton.
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Few people to show for cleanups
Each person and place in our great state holds a special and God give uniqueness. Our differences can seem so vast it can feel like a culture shock no matter who you are. As a resident of Pegram, Tennessee, I love pulling into Finch’s Country store and seeing all the pictures of Lottery winners on the wall.
I feel like I hit the Lotto to be able to call this little town home. I love our parks and the winding Harpeth River running through town, and our 4th of July parade is like a modern day interpretation of Mayberry.
We do have a problem in Pegram though, as in many neighboring towns that are both big and small. We have a litter problem and its pretty much everywhere you look when you're driving through town and our neighboring hills.
Fast food wrappers, beer cans, old tires, TVs and any other cornucopia of waste people can throw from their car. I spoke with our Mayor John Louallen of Pegram and he said the last time he did a litter pick up in our town, only 10 residents showed up.
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Join us at Pegram Park
Our common ground through this life is this beautiful Earth we are living on. This litter we see when we drive to work, school, church, soccer practice, and that we are all used to, unites us in the reality that it probably isn’t our own litter but somebody else’s and we can’t just let it sit there or rely on city and state officials to make it a priority in their upcoming legislative agenda.
So, from one Tennessean to another, I invite you to pick up some trash even if it isn’t yours this Saturday to celebrate Earth Day.
If you want to join us, we are having a Pegram Pick Up Saturday at 9 a.m., starting at Pegram Park.
Jordan Lawhead is an environmental advocate, Middle Tennessee real estate professional, Pegram resident and Founder of Youinspire.org.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Earth Day: Americans can find common ground through community cleanups
