They’ll take care of that

Once, after our flight landed, I noticed an acquaintance take one last sip and then toss his empty water bottle onto the seat.

Knowing the answer, I still asked, “Hey. Is that your trash?”

“Oh, they’ll take care of that.”

I ended up taking care of it, putting the bottle into a recycling bin in the terminal.

It’s true: the flight attendants would have taken care of it. But why add to their burden? Why not take responsibility for our own mess?

The experience made me consider the idea of “they’ll take care of that” as a general worldview.

• The mechanic... will take care of topping-off fluids.

• The caterer... will take care of the dirty dishes.

• The township... will take care of fixing the potholes.

• The teacher... will take care of educating my kids.

• The church... will take care of the poor.

• The government... will take care of the pollution.

• The oppressed... will take care of fixing their own situation.

It’s easy to see how “they’ll take care of that” doesn’t always work.

Sometimes, it’s plainly wrong.