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“High Plains Drifter” Adventures: Yellowstone, Buffaloes,
Old People & Justice
23 September 2010By Jane Stillwater
By preserving Yellowstone National Park, Americans
have really done something right!
While Bush, Cheney and Obama have been busy screwing
up the Middle East bigtime and squandering a trillion
dollars there for nothing, the fact that two million
acres of pristine wilderness have been carefully
preserved for future generations has given us
Americans a true opportunity to pat ourselves on the
back.
And Yellowstone truly lives up to its rep.
Even the thousands of acres of dead trees left over
from the massive fire of 1988 are quite impressive –
in a zombie-forest, living-dead sort of way.
Imagine if we had spent a trillion dollars on national
parks instead of on killing strangers in Iraq. The
mind boggles at the wonderfulness that would have
resulted -- and at the lost opportunities we have let
slip through our fingers.
And then I actually saw Old Faithful! Me and about 800
other tourists. “But you should have seen it here in
July,” said a waitress at the Old Faithful Lodge, the
world’s largest log cabin. “In only one day, we hosted
over 25,000 visitors!” And boy can I understand why
they came here. This place is magical.
“Yellowstone is also one of the only places in the
world,” said a ranger, “where you can actually see
some of the type of volcanic activity that is always
taking place right under our feet -- no matter where
we are on the planet.” Do you mean to say that all
that magma and steam that I am seeing here can also be
found right under my feet back home in Berkeley?
“Yes.”
Then I saw two gigantic buffaloes and two gigantic
elks – within 25 feet of me! Trust me, I backed right
off. Those guys are fierce! And you should see all my
fabulous photos of Yellowstone too. I have
approximately 600 of them. Thank goodness for digital.
Okay. Enough about nature. Let's get back to talking
about my favorite subject again -- justice. Every
religion in the world has a soft spot for justice. Me
too.
According to www.dictionary.com, the definition of
justice is "The quality of being just; righteousness,
equitableness, or moral rightness: to uphold the
justice of a cause."
So why should I be going all out, full-tilt for
justice -- when the main historical rule for the rest
of mankind seems to be "Might makes Right" and "If you
can conquer it, it's yours"? I don't know. I just LIKE
justice -- better than the bully approach to life. If
you had a choice between Genghis Khan and Jesus, who
would you chose?
Anyway, speaking of justice, today I talked to the
first African-American I've seen since I arrived in
"The West" six days ago, even after traveling all
through South Dakota and Wyoming. Face it guys, racial
diversity pretty much doesn't exist here -- hardly at
all. Maybe that's why so many people out here seem to
hate Obama so much. To them, perhaps he isn't seen as
our President, but rather as one of "The Other," the
unknown. I guess none of them ever watched Sesame
Street when they were kids.
To someone like me, however, who lives in a VERY
economically, culturally and racially diverse
community, Sarah Palin and Glen Beck are "The Other".
And, unbelievably, I also just saw my first
Native-American today. South Dakota and Wyoming seem
to have almost NO Indians, outside of ones living on
reservations. I don't even know what to think about
that -- except that the genocide and concentration
camp programs here must have been a complete success.
I guess Sudan, Israel, Myanmar and China could come
here and take lessons. Yuck!
PS: Aside from being able to glory in the wonders of
America's national parks, another good thing that has
come out of this trip is that, while on the road, I've
met a whole lot of senior citizens that I have really
liked -- which has made me stop worrying so much about
getting old. If they can do it with such flash and
charm, then so can I.
And I've also met a lot of really nice married couples
out here on the road too -- which is also good. After
having witnessed my own parents' dismally unhappy
marriage for so many years, it never even occurred to
me that there might be a possibility that married
people might still actually enjoy each others' company
years after the honeymoon is over -- and that
participating in said unions might have actually
enhanced both of their lives.
"Love stands for Looking For Good," someone once told
me, "and if any marriage [gay, straight or polka-dot]
is going to work out, that is what you constantly must
do -- keep looking for good in your spouse."
And perhaps this philosophy should also be applied to
our attitude toward people considered to be "The
Other". And then, perhaps, we might have more justice
in our world -- and we too could be enhanced by the
presence of "Others".
PPS: The next stop on my whirlwind tour of America's
various urban and wilderness areas will be the Grand
Tetons and Jackson Hole -- home to Spandex cowboy Dick
Cheney. Or at least that's where Cheney currently
keeps his crypt.
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