The Wilderness Obsession

[Valin]

The American Spectator:

Roger Scruton
November 2010

The environmental movement in America began as a defense of nature against man. But what we call "nature" is a human construct, and when Thoreau and John Muir set out to protect the unspoiled wilderness, they were really trying to create the unspoilt human being who would walk in it. All the most vigorous environmental initiatives in America, from the national parks movement and the Sierra Club to Earth Day and the Wilderness Society, have been dedicated to the wilderness idea. The motive has seldom been to protect or improve the human habitat, but to make trails into the pristine hinterland, where the American people can breathe the pure air of Eden, and cast off the burden of original sin, which is the sin of the city.

This wilderness obsession has had good results. It is good that America has large national parks, in which wildlife enjoys a measure of protection. It is good that Americans cherish their forests, rivers, lakes, and wetlands. It is good that they worry over the future of bald eagles, black bears, and bobcats. And it is only right that these concerns should be reflected in American vacations, in the romantic streak in American art and literature, and in the "lone ranger" image that recurs in American popular culture. The squads of easy-rider motorbikes that patrol the scenic highways, the troops of scouts on the mountain trails, the canoes and kayaks on the river rapids-all testify to a deeply implanted respect for the natural world, and a longing for a lost innocence. People who retain the idea of lost innocence are one degree better than those who have forgotten it and therefore believe that there is no such thing. And maybe the goodness of America depends, in the last analysis, on the cult of the wild.

But there is a downside to the wilderness idea and it is an important one. The American concern for animal habitats has encouraged a vandalization of the habitats of people. Man takes his fallen condition with him into the wilderness. He may reflect on it there, as Thoreau did at Walden Pond, but he cannot escape it. And by creating this illusory Eden he turns his back on his true habitat, which is the city.

(Snip)

[SrWoodchuck]

Valin! Thanks for posting!

 

I assume Rog' is an urban dweller that delights in covenants.

 

I also think we've done pretty well, at least in Colorado, with a mix of open space & domestic living area. I am totally aghast at the plans of the Obama administration and the evil Interior Department, led by a literal madman by the name of Ken Salazar. Thirty-six percent of Colorado lands are held by the Federal government, in the form of parks, refuges, wildlife sanctuaries, easements and grants. Most of these parcels allow energy development, grazing & recreational use for the citizens of Colorado. No more. Salazar has mounted an offensive [that's the proper name for it, too] to "lock-up" all uses of the Federal land, so that it will be "held in trust for all US citizens." In reality, it is part of their "green" agenda to not just encourage alternative energy, but to mandate, insist & require that we turn to it immediately. [All the old jokes about dying in the dark & cold- are a real possibility with these eco-Nazi's!] Almost all of the western states have been affected.....some more than Colorado......Utah actually has more Federally owned land & has sued the Interior department to prevent the "lock-up" especially where the State of Utah has negotiated lease agreements, that were abrogated by Salazar & his Federal thieves. Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming & Idaho are all in the same general shape, as far as targets for Salazar's conquest.....some with a greater percentage of Fed-owned land & some with less. This is a prime area of States rights under the 10th Amendment.

 

Ideally, in 2012, when Obama goes, or before if we are lucky......Salazar can exit to infamy & obscurity....or even be charged, indicted, and imprisoned or executed.

 

Sorry. I'm embarassed that he's from Colorado, and I want him gone & never heard from again....like Gary Hart.