Toxic 'Waste'

Did Zeitoun really mean that waste is one of the things that can destroy society? Can you really compare waste to the things he listed such as murder and divorce? It seems kind of odd that Zeitoun would group waste into the same categories as these. Yet Zeitoun really saw the thicker meaning behind the waste and the meaning it had. Due to the way Zeitoun was brought up while he was a child, he learned to value everything he had and had to work for it, rather than it just being handed to him. The quote he stated in the book that said “If your hand does not work for it , your heart doesn’t feel sorry for it.” I certaintly agreed with this quote and thought it was very straight forward. The quote, in just a couple of words, summarized the intent Zeitoun had when talking about waste.

Zeitoun knew very well the value of working for his own things. He had done this his whole life and was now trying to instill the same values to his family. This task seems to be difficult because in the society him and his family are living under. In the United States people have lost their sense of value and appreciation. They seem to think there will always be enough food, money and time because they live in such a great country with abundant resources. Yet, with this mentaliy that most of Americans have acquired, the quote and Zeitoun's words have become true in such a big society.

 This point hits home to me because when I first started my first job I soon realized that every penny counts when you earned it with your hard work. Starting my first year at SMU, I had to buy my own books and supplies and soon invest in a new laptop. All these expenses will be coming out of my own pocket and to me they have so much more value than if the were given to me or bought by my parents. I completely understand when Zeitoun says that people have lost value in small but important things.

This year I learned that when you purchase an item on campus many of those items can be added to your tuition cost. I have heard many students take advantage of this system because they say they wont be the ones paying for it, but their parents. Some students are not even aware of the amount that has accumulated to their tuition but to them it does not matter because they are use to someone else taking care of financial stuations. Them not being aware of how much things really cost and how much work it took to earn that money, makes them not really not value what they are being given. To me this passage has been a very interesting one because we can relate to it in many different ways and we can see it around us in a daily bases.