Another wilderness post

For the last couple months I have been enthralled in Wilderness and the American Mind by Professor Roderick Nash. The book explores how attitudes toward wilderness have changed throughout the years, starting when Europeans first set foot on American soil and working its way to modern times (3rd edition was completed in 1982). With less than 50 pages to go, Nash has helped me understand more about my own perceptions and what I should be doing about it. The opening chapters were especially enlightening and I'll briefly summarize the pieces that stood out.

As with most issues during colonial times, wilderness was viewed from a religious perspective. Wild country was an intimidating and sinister entity neccessary of being conquered. The validation for this claim was taken straight from scripture and pioneers forged the frontier with one thing in mind: domination. While the west was being settled, something else was happening across the Atlantic. As Europe moved into the Age of Enlightenment, the hostile view of a cursed and ungodly wilderness began to soften. Romantics suggested a sublime association with God and wild nature and turned to the uncultivated, uncivilized forests for inspiration. With the help of great minds such as Henry David Thoreau, the philosophy of transcendentalism was introduced and a genuine appreciation of nature began to arise. Americans began to feel that they had something special that Europeans did not: wild country...and lots of it. They also noticed the unending destruction of America's forests and a call for preservation was imminent. Between the late 1800's and mid 1900's significant legislation passed that fortified the preservation of America's wilderness.

There still exists an uneasiness felt in regards to the wild. One of Thoureau's conclusion about wilderness is that there must be a balance between civilization and our primitive instincts. Although the deeply respected John Muir had different feelings, I cannot agree with it more. Too much of city life has obvious drains on the human spirit. But too much wilderness will limit human progress , both culturally and mentally. Complete isolation from society will do nothing for compassion and empathy.

While I have yet to finish reading this book I know that it will leave some important issues out. The third edition was completed in 1982, giving two and a half decades of wilderness development left undiscussed. I know that the battle for wilderness preservation is in no way over. This is readily apparent from Californias recent legislative proposal to close over 100 state parks. Luckily this daunting threat was not the end result of the California budget problem, but it came dangerously close. My fascination with this text has encouraged me to get involved with the process. I firmly believe that the preservation of wilderness is essential to the progress of mankind and we can not let this generation take that away from those who follow.