On that point, Mr. Miyagi was full of shit!
Not really. I remember years ago when my cousin and her husband adopted a child from Guatemala. They live in a very nice section of town. Her husband was brushing his teeth when the child went into the bathroom and shut off the water in the sink. She told him we don't want to waste a drop of water because water is precious. She demanded he only turn on the water after he spit, and turn it off again.
She and her husband are both libs, so they thought it was cute and complied. I guess the teacher forgot to tell students we live near the largest fresh water reserves in the world, and we have plenty of water.