A certain man in a sweater vest got the best of me today. He is not the first of his peers to do this. I also have a bone to pick with a certain man with two first names. Before I lose readers due solely to political reasons let me explain that I am neither Republican nor Democrat. My opinions do not conveniently fit into those neat boxes. One of my biggest priorities, our planet, used to be a pinnacle of conservative agendas. We've all seen the iconic pictures of Teddy Roosevelt surveying western vistas with John Muir at his side. Sometime between now and then the liberal side of politicians picked up the environmentalists and then proceeded to mostly ignore them. So, I won't say that I feel much love from either side of the table. I am most certainly not saying one person should win over another. This is a call for others to consider the implications of their sound bites.
Lately, those chasing each other's tails to get their names on the big ticket have had considerable success in eliminating large sectors of prospective voters rather than gaining them. Anyone loving "America the Beautiful" is likely part of the turned off crowd. Mr. Sweater Vest has decided that anyone that does not wish to have dominion (definition: sovereign authority or complete control) over the earth is now a
radical environmentalist. Fine, I'll be radical if that is what it means to believe that mountains are more than the elements hidden in their crevasses, rocks are more than the oil under them, and prairies are more than the loamy soil amongst their roots.
Mr. Two First Names is calling for the elimination of the Department of the Interior, who controls a little subagency called The National Park Service. What will happen to the national parks? Well that is yet to be seen, but suggestions do include selling them to private entities. As a former park ranger (always in my heart) I take real issue to this. National parks are more than land to be partitioned off to the highest bidder.
Maybe these two men and many others would feel differently if they had had the experiences I have had. It is a common phrase amongst park service employees to say that they get "paid in sunsets." The sunsets are great, but I believe I was always paid in moments of visitors having true engagement with nature. Perhaps the only thing more beautiful than watching small salmon swimming in the freshwater streams of the Hoh Rain Forest is to watch a child spot one for the first time and squeal with delight. Or watching an adults' rusty gears turn in their head after setting themselves to the doldrums of daily routine over the amazing survival capabilities of a kangaroo rat in the desert. Or seeing an indifferent teenager sincerely interested in the slime and slither of a banana slug as opposed to an electronic device. A naturalist witnesses small miracles everyday.
The breathtaking views from a mountain, the crisp, clean taste of water from a freshwater spring, the wonder of encountering a wild animal in it's element- these things will not last without protection. They barely do with it. Most hikers have encountered the water bottle on the path, graffiti on the rocks, and toilet paper in the bushes. Yet these are small threats compared to the pierce of an oil drill, the scar of fracking, and the sting of acid rain.
We need a voice of reason to set our priorities straight. Someone to stand up and say some things in this world are worth more than having the lowest gasoline price possible. I wonder what Aldo Leopold would say about this (do it, look him up...). I am what you might call a Leopold-phile. Interning on the land he once called his own and that inspired
A Sand County Almanac was one of the greatest honors of my life. He didn't wear tie-dyed t-shirts, listen to jam bands, or eat tofu. No, he was good ol' boy and he loved this planet too. One of his greatest quotes was "a thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise." Selling the national parks and having dominion over the earth seem to tend otherwise in my opinion. Have all the leaders willing to say this come and gone? Where is Leopold, Roosevelt or Muir now that we need them? Now that the greed of consumerism has its eyes on nature's best jewels.
We can live and find a way to adapt without the use of finite resources (we are still determined, intelligent, and inventive Americans, right?). However I am not sure that I could truly
live without nature's resources and the beauty, adventure, and hope it gives to my life.