Sunday, November 23, 2008

The Guy Knows What He's Talking About

Cronon's point of view is a unique one. Proposing that the idea of Wilderness is an American invention and is in fact existing not to preserve nature but to serve the elite is interesting. He argues "The removal of Indians to create an “uninhabited wilderness”—uninhabited as never before in the human history of the place—reminds us just how invented, just how constructed, the American wilderness really is." When you think about it Cronon brings up a valid point. I personally feel that I am not in Nature unless I am on a mountain top, in a national forest, or secluded from the industrial world. This reinforces his arguement of Wilderness being an American construct.
Cronon brings up another point, "By imagining that our true home is in the wilderness, we forgive ourselves the homes we actually inhabit." This is a great example of how we as a culture look negatively on our industrialized ways of living, and romanticize rural lifestyles. The American population looks over the Nature we have in our own backyard and focuses too much on the over-commercialized "Wilderness" we know today as our national parks and protected areas.

1 comment:

Amarone said...

I remember Cronon from the Parks and Wilderness in America class. It was very informative and gave you a great foundation in parks and wilderness in the US.