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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2016)
Page 4A OPINION East Oregonian Wednesday, July 13, 2016 Founded October 16, 1875 KATHRYN B. BROWN DANIEL WATTENBURGER Publisher Managing Editor JENNINE PERKINSON TIM TRAINOR Advertising Director Opinion Page Editor OUR VIEW OTHER VIEWS Staff photo by Tim Trainor A campfire at a riverside camp site in Idaho’s St. Joe National Forest. Is the U.S. on the path to ruin? Open land and public parks S I n 1983, the great western passions and in the same writer Wallace Stegner labeled volume. national parks as “the best We started our trip with a idea (America) ever had.” stop in Idaho’s St. Joe National Nothing has dethroned them Forest, camping for free on the since. As the public lands debate banks of the St. Joe River and continues unabated, and has catching cutthroat trout until ÀDUHGXSZLWKUHQHZHGYLJRULQ our arms got sore. The rocky Oregon and Utah and throughout canyons, crystal-clear water and Tim the West, it’s worth noting what Trainor dense pine forests were visually an unrivaled success the national spectacular and wilder than Comment park system is. Yellowstone, the surrounding I know this, in part, because I hills teeming with elk, moose, parlayed the Fourth of July holiday into bear and even lynx — and few people. a week-long road trip through Idaho and The upper stretches of the river were Montana, driving through some of the PRVWO\HPSW\6HO¿VKO\WKDWPDGHPH most inviting public lands this country most pleased. Most of the best holes has to offer. ZHUHXQ¿VKHGDQGWKHEHVWFDPSVLWHV One stop on the journey was clear of neighbors. But the rural towns <HOORZVWRQHWKHZRUOG¶V¿UVWQDWLRQDO farthest down the line now depend park, established in 1872. It welcomed 4 mostly on anglers and rafters and million visitors last year — a new record recreationalists. It’s not a good sign that — and has proven remarkably adept at SULPHFDPSVLWHVUHPDLQXQ¿OOHGRQZKDW expanding the regional economy and should have been the busiest weekend of protecting the natural wonders within its the year. boundaries. Certainly recreationalists can be The old cow town and ski bum mecca GDPDJLQJ:KHUHURDGVDQGFDPS¿UH of Bozeman, Montana, has become rings and boat ramps are built, a wealthy suburb of the Yellowstone degradation and damage are sure to Area, enthralling people to not just visit follow. Animals and ecosystems will but live in one of the most remarkable be impacted, and more so when road- ecosystems on the planet. building, infrastructure and continued At the same time, we saw hundreds maintenance is required. upon hundreds of bison calves and But many rural areas are not pristine, mothers living healthy and happy in and have not been for a long time. They the Lamar Valley — the Serengeti of FDQKDQGOHLQFUHDVHGKXPDQWUDI¿F America. The relative safety of the huge especially the responsible kind. herd attracted pronghorn and deer to The forests and creeks surrounding gather near and graze absentmindedly. the old mining town of Wallace, Idaho,d From deep in the surrounding forests, are recovering much faster than the both grizzly bears and wolves were local economy. Yet in a place like Butte, surely waiting for an opportunity. It was Montana, where humans have been nature at its most natural. continuously mining precious metals It’s not perfect, of course — we saw for more than a century, the damage elk gathered on the unnaturally watered is far greater than can be mediated. lawns near park headquarters, almost Residents describe their local ecosystem posing for pictures as tourists snapped as “post-natural.” away. It’s no wonder visitors can Recreation will not be an economic sometimes forget these are wild animals, boon for much of the rural West. And as Yellowstone at the height of the UHFUHDWLRQLWVHOIGRHVQRWEHQH¿WWKH season and in its busiest places can seem plants and animals that are impacted at more like a zoo. recreation sites and those downstream. But if the “idea” of national parks But recreating on public lands is was to protect places so Americans can good for the human soul and it upholds experience them, no park does it better the American ideal. It’s democratic, it’s WKDQ<HOORZVWRQH1RPDWWHU\RXU¿WQHVV free in most places, it tests mettle and level or mobility, you can experience reconnects us with the rhythms and oodles of nature from the paved roads values of our land. that crisscross the park and drop you at If you live in the West and don’t take the foot of Old Faithful and geyser basin advantage of the remarkable possibilities of public lands recreation, you are boardwalks, at the immense park lodges missing out on America’s greatest idea. or at one of the hundreds of campsites And you are missing the opportunity capable of accommodating the largest to do a small part to help keep rural of RVs. Americans and foreign visitors America alive. take advantage of the ease of access and Ŷ arrive by the millions. Tim Trainor is opinion page editor of But they don’t visit and recreate the East Oregonian. on other public lands with the same AN ANTONIO — I never arise as one and completely turn itself really understood how fascism around, but I think I’m beginning to could have come to Europe, understand now. Back in the 1880s but I think I understand better now. and 1890s, America faced crises as You start with some fundamental deep as the ones we face today. The historical transformation, like the Great economy was going through an epochal Depression or the shift to an information transition, then to industrialization. The economy. A certain number of people political system was worse and more are dispossessed. They lose identity, corrupt than ours is today. David self-respect and hope. Culturally things were bad, too. Brooks They begin to base their sense Racism and anti-immigrant feelings Comment of self-worth on their tribe, not their were at plaguelike levels. Urban behavior. They become mired in poverty was indescribable. their resentments, spiraling deeper into the And yet America responded. A new addiction of their own victimology. They fall OHDGHUVKLSFODVVHPHUJHGVHSDUDWHO\DW¿UVWEXW for politicians who lie about the source of their ¿QDOO\FRQJHDOLQJLQWRDQDWLRQDOPRYHPHQW,Q problems and about how they 1889, Jane Addams created can surmount them. Facts lose settlement houses to serve their meaning. Entertainment urban poor. In 1892, Francis replaces reality. Bellamy wrote the Pledge Once facts are unmoored, of Allegiance to give the everything else is unmoored, diversifying country a sense too. People who value of common loyalty. In 1902, humility and kindness in Owen Wister published private life abandon those “The Virginian,” a novel traits when they select leaders that created the cowboy in the common sphere. mythology and galvanized the Hardened by a corrosive American imagination. cynicism, they fall for morally New sorts of political deranged little showmen. leaders emerged. In city after And then perhaps there’s city, progressive reformers a catalyzing event. Societies cleaned up politics and in this condition are culturally tense and professionalized the civil service. Theodore socially isolated. That means there are a lot of Roosevelt went into elective politics at a time lonely, alienated young men seeking self-worth when few Ivy League types thought it was through violence. Some wear police badges; decent to do so. He bound the country around some sit in their rooms fantasizing of mass a New Nationalism and helped pass legislation murder. When they act, the results can be that ensured capitalism would remain open, fair convulsive. and competitive. Normally, nations pull together after This was a clear example of a society facing tragedy, but a society plagued by dislocation a generational challenge and surmounting it. and slipped off the rails of reality can go the The Progressives were far from perfect, but other way. Rallies become gripped by an they inherited rotting leadership institutions, exaltation of tribal fervor. Before you know it, reformed them and heralded in a new era of political life has spun out of control, dragging national greatness. the country itself into a place both bizarre and 6RZKLFKSDWKZLOOZHWDNHWKHKRUUL¿FSDWK unrecognizable. of 1930s Europe or the renewal path of 1890s This happened in Europe in the 1930s. We’re America? The future of the world hangs on that not close to that kind of descent in America question. today, but we’re closer than we’ve been. Let’s One way to think about it is this: America be honest: The crack of some abyss opened up still has great resources at the local and social for a moment by the end of last week. level. Here in San Antonio, there are cops Blood was in the streets last week — victims ZKRNQRZKRZWRGHHVFDODWHFRQÀLFWVE\ of police violence in two cities and slain cops showing dignity and respect. Everywhere I in another. America’s leadership crisis looked go there are mayors thinking practically and dire. The FBI director’s statements reminded us non-dogmatically. Can these local leaders move that Hillary Clinton is willing to blatantly lie to upward and redeem the national system, or will preserve her career. Donald Trump, of course, the national politics become so deranged that lies continually and without compunction. It’s it will outweigh and corrupt all the good that is very easy to see this country on a nightmare done block by block? trajectory. I’m betting the local is more powerful, that How can America answer a set of WKHKHDOWK\JURZWKRQWKHIRUHVWÀRRULVPRUH generational challenges when the leadership important than the rot in the canopy. But last class is dysfunctional, political conversation has ZHHNZDVDFRQ¿GHQFHVKDNHU7KHUH¶VDFDYLW\ entered a post-fact era and the political parties EHQHDWKZKDWZHWKRXJKWZDVWKHÀRRURI are divided on racial lines — set to blow at a national life, and there are demons there. moment’s notice? Ŷ On the other hand … David Brooks became a New York Times I never really understood how a nation could Op-Ed columnist in September 2003. Which path will we take, the horrific path of 1930s Europe or the renewal path of 1890s America? YOUR VIEWS Whisky Fest organizers should have worked with Shriners A good cowboy kick in the pants to the two guys who are promoting the Zac Brown Band concert and music fest. The music fest is a great idea and should become a regular attraction to Pendleton. However, as a Pendleton Shriner, I am disappointed these two guys have not been willing to work with the Shriners on the parking for this event. As most people know, the Shriners are some of the most generous and giving people on the planet. They support the Shriners Hospital for Children in Portland —100 percent. No child who enters this hospital ever pays a cent for the high-level care they receive Staff photo by Tim Trainor Bison pepper the landscape in the Lamar River Valley in Yellowstone National Park. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East Oregonian editorial board of Publisher Kathryn Brown, Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, and Opinion Page Editor Tim Trainor. Other columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of the East Oregonian. from some of the best doctors in the country. The Shriners don’t take one cent of the money they bring in, and traditionally their main income producer has been the parking for Round-Up at the old Albertson’s parking lot. The music fest would have been another wonderful opportunity for the Shriners to pass on the parking proceeds to the children’s hospital in Portland and help some needy kids receive life-changing care for orthopedic or traumatic injuries, severe burns and other serious conditions — regardless of their family’s ability to pay. My grandfather, father and now myself have all been very proud to be members of this philanthropic organization. David Burns Pendleton LETTERS POLICY The East Oregonian welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that infringe on the rights of private citizens. Submitted letters must be signed by the author and include the city of residence and a daytime phone number. The phone number will not be published. Send letters to 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com.