Last night I had the great pleasure of going to the launch party for the Ken Burns PBS documentary 'The National Parks'. A family friend was interviewed for the documentary because he is a John Muir scholar, a man very instrumental in he creation of the National parks.
A year ago I would not be one to wax poetic about America, but I completely agree with the film's tag line. The single thing that's sets America's wilderness apart of from Europe is the rawness of our wilderness. As absurd as that may sound its the truth. The American wilderness is absolutely wild. So much of the European landscape has been shaped by the hands of people for millenia. In Scotland - my main point of reference - there is only one small section of ancient woodland that has remained, for the most part untouched by man. But here, on our western continent, the new world, so much - pieces the size of European countries - has never been changed and shaped by man. Yes, people have lived with the land, but they never farmed it en mass, tearing down forests, clearing stones, re-routing water. We have swathes of land that are almost as pristine as when the Europeans - and my forebears - imposed themselves on this new world. I am completely in favour of keeping them that way.
Scotland is a beautiful place. Everyone asks and its true. But can you imagine a landscape that has born the brunt of human endeavor for thousands and thousands of year. And I've studied the country. They've been reshaping that land since there were people in Scotland.
But looking past all the rhetoric and politics, the clips from the documentary made me cry a little bit. So if I have the time to watch the full shebang, I know I'll bawl my eyes out.
In other news on that evening, Assistant Secretary Strickland was there to make a speech. Ahead of the performance he was mingling with the crowd, and I thought I recognized him, but couldn't place it (like always) so I just eyed flirted with him. *giggle giggle*
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