A culture of narcissism

A man shifts though the rubbish left behind at the Live 8 concert site in London's Hyde Park, Sunday

I found this photo over at the peak oil forum talking about the Live 8 concert.

What this picture tells me is something even more fundamental than the disconnect between going to a concert and stopping poverty. It's about growing up.

There is a code among hikers that if you "pack it in, you pack it out" meaning that if you brought it with you, you take it back out when you leave, especially the trash. The mountains and the great outdoors are not a trash can. Nor are public spaces, but you could've fooled me from the looks of it in the picture.

What does this say about a people, a culture, who believe themselves to be the height of freedom and democracy and Western civilization but instead act like the most spoiled children on the planet who have yet to learn to pick up after themselves? If this is the best we have to offer the world, the sooner we get rid of it and replace it with something more responsible that teaches people to respect the world they live in and not pollute it to the point of making it unsanitary and unlivable the better.