SHOWDOWN! Air dryers vs. paper towels

Both sides are wrong. PLUS: The science of handwashing, my most viral Tweet, and Philippians 3:20.

Humans are placed in so many no-win situations.

One of the mostly inconsequential ones I’ve observed for years is drying your hands in a public bathroom. Many public restrooms have resorted to air dryers—perhaps to save money, maybe to cut back on paper waste to help the environment. But these inventions don’t always measure up to their intended purpose.

First of all, nine times out of ten, they don’t actually dry your hands very well. Second, and this is pretty important, they aren’t as effective at removing germs compared to paper towels and might actually spread more germs around the bathroom (as demonstrated in the 2013 MythBusters episode “Down and Dirty” or if you prefer this 2018 Harvard study).

Okay, but on the other hand, you have paper towels, which are pretty wasteful and also are not environmentally friendly. Just in the U.S. alone, 94,000 trees are cut down every single day for paper towels and related products (Source). It takes 20,000 gallons of water to produce just one ton of them (Source). Discarded paper is a major component of many landfill sites, accounting for about 35% by weight of municipal solid waste (Source). So yeah, it’s not great for the planet to keep mass-producing flimsy paper we use for 2.5 seconds before tossing it toward the trash.

So which option is better? Do we universally adopt air hand dryers with their poor cleaning ability, or do we universally adopt paper towels with their negative environmental impact? Which is the better choice?

IDK.

Photo by Buchen WANG on Unsplash

And that’s the point. Sometimes, we’re asked to choose between two flawed options.

You might have an opinion one way or the other, and that’s okay. But this silly example illustrates how often we are caught between a rock and a hard place—forced to choose between the mythical Scylla or Charybdis, knowing either path has consequences. Taking a firm stance on either extreme leads to an imperfect result.

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Before we continue…

Jake’s Stuff

• I was on the Ministry Misfits podcast recently talking about “What is Idolatry Anyway?” It was a fun conversation, originally recorded live, and I got to talk at length about a lot of themes of interest to Smashing Idols podcast listeners and readers

• Hoping to launch a devotional type eBook soon, working title The Burden of Being Better than Everyone Else which will be a collection of stories and reflections on smashing the idol of pride.

Latest Podcast Episode

And now the spiritual point…

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Yet our world is so full of binaries. You must be on this side. If you don’t adopt this extreme position, then you hate puppies (or something like that). Polarization is rampant. Look at any chart on political data, and you’ll see how the dots are moving toward the edges while the middle of the spectrum grows sparse.

But there is a movement pushing back against this polarization. There’s a (in my opinion, much more rational) approach that recognizes both sides are flawed—yet both also have strengths.

I once had a semi-viral tweet that showed me how many people feel the same way. There’s cringey stuff on both ends of the spectrum. Neither side is perfect, yet each has advantages the other lacks.

My tweet said:

“Honestly, conservatives make me more progressive, and progressives make me more conservative.”

Jake Doberenz, Twitter/X/whatever it’s called

I was NOT trying to express that I’m in the political middle, but that I don’t even fit on the map—neither the precepts of “conservative” nor “progressive” completely align with my political or religious views. It’s not glorifying neutrality—I’m saying the map itself is flawed. I only use these categories because they’re familiar, not because they reflect how Jesus calls me to live.

The experience taught me that many agreed with my assertion—but many told me I was horrible and anti-Christian because, in their view, one side was evil and the other good.

But I wasn’t trying to say I stand back and let evil be evil… I just recognize that anyone who claims one side is perfect is selling something. I do take sides, to be sure. But I don’t base my sides on certain parties or traditions, just believing that because they say so, they must be right! No, I don’t think both are “equally” right or “equally” wrong. I just reject the spectrum because neither captures who I think Jesus wants me to be.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a perfect solution to this delicate balancing act we are asked to do as Christians—and this is more than just about politics. Certainly, I’m not about to provide one in a short newsletter!

But what I hope is that you can realize that it’s okay (and often preferable) not to throw all your chips in with one extreme or the other. Real life is far more complicated. Jesus himself navigated a strange in-between place—hanging out with a wide range of people, from anarchical zealots to tax collectors who were completely in bed with the empire. He spoke from the Jewish tradition but challenged his own people to be better. He ate with “sinners” and sparred with “saints.” A true enigma. What a guy!

Oh, he definitely took firm stances on many issues, but he doesn’t fit neatly into any modern socio-political category. (Jesus wasn’t a capitalist or a socialist, FYI.)

I choose neither

I’ll admit that some groups might get closer to the ideal than others, but I’m not going to pledge my allegiance to anything but Christ. Why? Because that’s not how the Kingdom works!

The Kingdom of God transcends ethnic, national, political, social, geographical, and cultural barriers. Certain groups might display Christian values better than others, but we cannot say that those groups are synonymous with being a Christian. Our Christian identity is found in the Kingdom; those groups that seem acceptable to us have merely stumbled upon Christian virtues, but they themselves are not to be equated with the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God stands above and often against the groups we form in this world. It changes everything.

As Paul declares:

“But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.”

—Philippians 3:20

That’s where our allegiances lie. Not to any earthly groups.

Balancing truth, goodness, and beauty in a polarized world is no easy task.

So no, I can’t tell you whether paper towels or air dryers are better—they both have pros and cons. And I won’t stake my life on either one. But I will stake my life on Jesus. Because in a world full of flawed options, he is the only one without a downside. The only one who never fails. The only one worth full allegiance.

P.S. Reply and let me know if you prefer air dryers or paper towels for your public restroom hygiene experience!

Idk, choose Jesus,

Jake Doberenz

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