Not everything is a commodity…especially our public lands!
Source suwa.org
One of the biggest problems with the current administration is their belief that everything has a price…a value…a worth in the marketplace. Well, that kind of one-dimensional thinking is what destroys cultures and collapses the very foundations on which they were once built.
There is no possible way to commodify a perfect vista…a snow-capped mountain…a spectacular sunset…or a special place the endures in one’s heart due to a memory or experience that moved them.
But that’s exactly what the administration and some of their allies in Congress are trying to do by proposing to sell-off our public lands…commodify the price of beauty, of scenery, of vistas, of all sorts of precious places and profound experiences. It’s like trying to put a price on love.
I cannot think of a more egregious act than to sell the very soul of our nation — our public lands. Personally, I want my children and grandchildren to see the sights I’ve seen, hike the trails I’ve hiked, visit the places I’ve visited, and experience the awe of America’s most gorgeous and wondrous locations.
Our country’s greatest assets are not theme parks, are not tourist attractions, are not our cities, and are not anything of human creation or fabrication. Our greatest national treasures are our public lands — the blessed gifts of geography, topography, geology, flora, and fauna that existed before any humans ever set foot here.
“Our greatest national treasures are our public lands — the blessed gifts of geography, topography, geology, flora, and fauna that existed before any humans ever set foot here.”
The Atlantic and Pacific coastlines. The deserts, red rocks, and canyons of the Southwest. The lakes and streams of the Midwest. The mountains and forests of the West. The grasslands and prairies of the Great Plains. The swamps and bayous of the Deep South. The list goes on and on and on.
Woody Guthrie put it best with his poignant lyrics, “This land is your land, this land is my land…” That means our public lands are for ALL Americans, not just the rich and powerful. Let’s keep it that way!
Peace!
