We’ve all used straws before- for milkshakes, smoothies, and especially while drinking elaborate Starbucks concoctions. Each time you perform the satisfying action of unwrapping the paper around your straw and sticking it into your cold drink for a delicious first sip, do you think about how your actions are affecting the world around you? Probably not, honestly.
As humans, we need to start being held accountable for our actions, including those as small as choosing to use a straw for a drink. This message is seen in the Greenpeace advertisement that begs consumers to take action and not “suck the life from our oceans,” since straws can get caught in the nostrils of sea turtles or other animals and cause death. By using the civic ideology that as humans, it is our job to take care of the environment that we live in, this ad urges people to stop using plastic straws in order to save innocent animals that are unable to save themselves.
Sourced from Greenpeace Canada and Rethink Canada.
There are multiple ways that consumers can take civic action and join the movement to save the turtles. You could simply choose to skip the straw for your next drink, or you could make the conscious choice to buy a reusable straw to significantly cut down on the plastic waste created. However, as not everyone is willing to purchase their own straw, Starbucks and other global companies have also started campaigns to reduce straw use.
This idea links to each of Schudson’s pillars of “How we Learn to be Civic.” By changing an action seen in “Daily Life,” we can better the world for ourselves and others. Starbucks, as a huge international chain, can provide the influence necessary to change this action through “Structures of Attention.” If celebrities or other prominent figures publicly choose to share this campaign, it becomes more successful as others join the movement. The “Civic Infrastructure” for this movement stems from the individual changes that chains make to provide straw alternatives, such as redesigning cup lids or providing compostable straws.
Next time you buy a drink, take a moment to think about how your actions can affect other creatures before reaching for a plastic straw. Are you making a civic choice?
I really like your choice of topic as it is becoming widely popular. I also thought you did good connecting it to Shudson’s pillars. Also you had a great intro as it is relatable and casual, and a good ending as it leaves with a question to have people think about.
This advertisement clearly calls for a reduction in the use of everyday plastics. I think many people will be able to relate to this topic considering it is part of a major movement that seems to be pushed more and more everyday. Since this doesn’t only relate to turtles, but climate change as a whole, there are a lot of ways this is civic.
Leah, this is a valid artifact, for certain! Remember that you don’t need to cover all 4 of Schudson’s “categories,” so if you find you primarily are talking about the 1 or 2 that are most relevant to the civic message of this piece, that’s entirely fine.
You wrote this: “By using the civic ideology that as humans, it is our job to take care of the environment that we live in…” This is good! I like how you’re explicitly stating the implicit ideology that’s informing this ad. (Keep this up! Keep doing more of this type of “teasing out the civic ideologies/commonplaces” in the speech!)
Green light — carry on!