Standing (and the grass tax)

Standing exhibits up at any time when people do, and it’s the invisible underpinning of our tradition.

The entrance garden was solely invented across the time of Columbus. The thought was to exhibit that you simply had money and time to waste. You can take helpful land and make it non-productive. You can take labor and put it to work taking good care of this non-productive land with no apparent utility in return. An enormous entrance garden, properly cared for, was an indication of standing and luxurious.

It’s a contagious thought, and a sticky one. Many suburbs have it written into their legal guidelines.

John Inexperienced reminds us that Jay Gatsby paid to have a neighbor’s yard groomed earlier than Daisy came visiting to fulfill him…

The prices are actual. Relying on location, we use 30 to 70% of our nation’s complete potable water provide to water the grass. We spend billions of {dollars} a yr sustaining it, and the machines we use make our air poisonous. If somebody invented grass at the moment, with all of the hassles and prices, there’s no approach it could catch on.

The following step within the standing ladder is going on in lots of communities–grass for the highschool taking part in fields has turn into low standing. It must be changed with plastic “turf” (a reputation created by wordsmiths to remind us of grass, when it’s truly carpet). One of the best purpose to do the swap, supporters say, is as a result of all the opposite faculties are doing it, and we’re falling behind.

If it will possibly occur to grass, it will possibly occur to the whole lot, and it does.

When unsure about why a cultural trope exists, search for standing.

And maybe, every now and then, we should always set standing apart and take a tough take a look at the place we’re, making a brand new determination with new data.

June 12, 2025