William Cronon's, "The Trouble with Wilderness" got my mind racing with thoughts and memories about how I viewed wilderness, and questioning whether or not my view was correct. I grew up in a very small town where there was no shortage of wilderness, or so I thought. Before reading Cronon's piece I thought of wilderness as being anywhere with trees and wildlife. I realize now, that is a very narrow way of thinking about something so amazing. Wilderness is more than just a place you will find animals and trees. Wilderness is a part of every person on this planet. Whether we believe it or not we have a deep connection with wilderness, deeper than most people realize. I believe it is conceded and ignorant to think, as humans, we are better than the very place that has made us.
The beauty and tranquility of wilderness is often taken for granted. I'm sure there are many people who have never even set foot inside a forest. The peacefulness that radiates from wilderness is what makes it great. I love taking a walk through the woods. Being out in nature walking among the wildlife, breathing in the fresh air and enjoying something so natural is a feeling you can't find anywhere else. As a species we should stop ruining one of the last natural connections we have with our earth.
Everyone talks about going green and saving the trees, but I feel it is put on the back burner most of the time. We are very "right now" kind of people. If we want something we need it right then. If we want a new mall, then we will just chop down ten more acres and build one. I find it mind blowing how we talk about saving the earth so much, but only if it means we don't have to lose our shiny new SUV. To me it's a joke. We are going to keep pushing and pushing until the earth finally pushes back. I don't think we fully have come to grips with how powerful the earth is. It is a living thing, and no living thing goes down without a fight.
So I leave you with this. What happens when the earth decides it's had enough?
I agree that our society tends to have the mentality of "here" and "now", and often the consequences are an afterthought.
ReplyDeleteHowever, that is a reflection on our culture. Right or wrong, the cultural "ideal" typically has been large SUVs, large homes that are expensive to heat and cool, and so on. It seems to me that the American Dream doesn't really leave room for environmental concerns...
Until there is a revolution in the culture itself, a change in values, then I don't see most Americans doing anything more than lip-service to environment protection. And sadly, I tend to think it's going to take a very large scale environmental disaster before any changes will be visible. It just doesn't seem pressing enough currently.
The most thought-provoking line in your piece, to me, is: "Wilderness is a part of everyone on the planet."
ReplyDeleteThat is such an interesting idea; I have never thought that wilderness was a part of me as much as I was a part of it. But, wilderness truly embedded in our desires and emotions as human beings. Cronon talked about that innate relationship in his article we read for class today and you elaborate on it when you challenge us: "...it is ignorant to think of ourselves as better than the place that has made us."
It is definitely a question of where we got this type of authority to dominate nature and furthermore, what we are going to do with it.
I've never sat back and really thought about a deep connection with nature before, but as an avid hiker and climber, now that you put the idea in my mind, I can really think of instances where I could really feel that link. Maybe that is the answer to get people to show respect for nature or "wilderness" again.
ReplyDeleteI agree, we as humans are selfish when it comes to nature. We want to preserve nature until it is in conflict with what we desire. Now is the time to be conservative because as the population grows at an exponential rate, nature is being consumed at an exponential rate.
ReplyDeleteWhen you said that your view of wilderness was a very narrow way of thinking, I thought the same for myself, along with most students in our class. We certainly all had some concept of what the word means and what is wild. Something not covered in class was that we are not wrong about thinking wilderness is " anywhere with trees and wildlife," or any other person's definition or vision of the word. We are all correct. Each of us will obviously have different perceptions because we were all brought up differently, and therefore can give input which will result in other people realizing some part of the definition they never had before.
ReplyDeleteAs for the earth pushing back... if you have not noticed, it has already started. Winters are colder, summers hotter, storms are impressively stronger and happen more often in shorter time periods around the world.