| Show Your Heritage and You What prompts people to drop candy wrappers on the street and beer cans from car windows windows windows win win- dows An anonymous questionnaire revealed that 50 of ot college college college col col- lege students admitted to be being being being be- be ing litterbugs What caused this wave of ugliness that Is turnIng turnIng turning turn- turn Ing Am America rica Into a garnish brassy neon-lit neon rid billboard den littered tasteless tasteless tasteless taste taste- less and above all messy place The above quote from Stewart Stewart Ste Ste- wart Alsop's Post article June 23 1962 also points out that Americas America's ugliness is all man-made man of course For Forthe Forthe Forthe the land itself the land we inherited from God and the Indians is probably the most beautiful in the world and certainly certainly certainly the most varied There Is no way to endow our cities clUe with the kind of ancient and inherited beauty the citizens of Europe enjoy There are some handsome old buildings in America and they should be tenderly preserved the tax structure with its write write- offs orts for depreciation makes it profitable to tear down sound and handsome buildings and andre andre- re replace replace re- re place them with glassy mon mon- es Mr Alsop says that the re responsibility responsibility re- re for tor Americas America's ugliness ugliness ugliness ness rests with all of us the American people We tINe tolerate our country's ugliness and we help create it The Swiss have as much pride in their country as any nation on earth Their attitude is re reflected reflected reflected re- re In this quote from Mr Alsop I I once bought a peach in a store in Geneva which must surely be the worlds world's most spotless city After Arter eatIng eating eating eat eat- ing it I threw the pit in the gutter as an American would Two Swiss immediately tapped me on the shoulder and politely but sternly motioned me to pick the pit out of the gutter Along with this pride in their country's appearance goes a pride e In their heritage that Is true of Europe and a few tew sections sections sections sec sec- of the United Slates States Property owners and residents residents residents resi resi- dents of the old section of Bern which dates back to the century are forbidden by law to change the appearance of any old building They can modernIze modernize mod mod- as much they like Uke the Interior but the buildings must remain the same on the street as they have always been Stupid backward Swiss we mutter but tourism is their prime e industry and their beau beautiful country the one that people of oL the world would most like to visit according to a recent travel bureau survey Their lack of progress has made their country one of ot the richest and greatest tourist centers of the world and certainly thinly hasn't hurt their pocket- pocket books Nadine Nibley |
