User:Cinntg

Cleanliness Is NOT Next to Godliness
Mission Statement

Georgia is in a severe state of environmental disrepair due to the utmost need for water in the region. Water is an invaluable and nonrenewable resource that we cannot contend with, yet our culture seems to believe we can wrangle water and use it in anyway we please. "Cleanliness is not next to godliness" is concerned with Americans’ obsession with body image, as it relates to hygiene. Water is inextricable from this cultural notion of salutariness: americans view daily showers, crystal clear toilet water, and flushing after urination as critical measures of one’s personal hygiene level. We at "Cleanliness Is NOT Next to Godliness" are revolted by Americans’ delusional hygiene standards. We believe this exorbitant notion of water has brought Georgia into this state of severe drought.

History

"Cleanliness is NOT Next to Godliness" formed as part of a class project for Dr. Kevin DeLuca's Speech Communication 4360: The Rhetoric of Social Movements at the University of Georgia. Enraged by the lack of student awareness of the severe drought situation in Georgia, particularly in Athens, the students of this group have proposed the idea that we Georgians ought to sacrifice our own hygiene in order to conserve water.

Pledge

Cleanliness Lent

Choose an important item in your everyday life and give it up. consider: Why did you choose to give up that particular item? was it more or less difficult than you imagined it would be? Did you miss whatever you gave up? did you find yourself tempted to use the item? How did your refusal to use the item effect others in your life? Was it more expensive to give the item up? Could you see yourself getting rid of this item permanently? How do you think a permanent decistion to give up your item would change your life? The world?

Below are a few personal hygiene measures we find entirely unnecessary to Americans’ daily grooming routine. We challenge you to sign your name in the pledge forum and sacrifice one of the measures below in order to lessen your impact on the drought. We have called the pledge a “Cleanliness Lenten Pledge,” because as one observes a Lenten promise in the Christian tradition in order to spend more time in thought and prayer, we hope that by reducing your time spent cleaning and grooming, you may find the time to contemplate the cause of the drought and your own impact on this environmental disaster.

PLEDGE for 1 Week (or forever)

I pledge to:

Choose as many as you are willing  Turn the water on only when I first get into the shower and when I’m rinsing off. Spend less time in the shower by washing not washing my hair every time I shower. Take a shower ___ times a week. Wear all of my clothes before I wash them. Wear my clothes more than once before washing them. Not wash my car for a year. Wash my dishes by hand. Not flush the toilet unless I have to.</li> <li>Turn the sink off when I’m brushing my teeth.</li> <li>Point out to my friends and family when they’re wasting water.</li> <li>Drink bottled water instead of tap water.</li> <li>Use a hand sanitizer instead of washing my hands.</li> <li>Be aware of the water shortage and do everything I can to limit my water consumption.</li> </ul>