The renown Ken Burns documentary called it “America’s best idea,” and it would be hard to argue if you’ve ever meandered along the paths of Yosemite or Yellowstone, Glacier or Grand Canyon. The idea was this: private interests and profit motive tend to corrupt and decay our great natural treasures, and so those treasures deserve to be protected for future generations to enjoy. Here was born our system of National Parks now over a hundred years old. If you had any real American childhood at all, indeed to call yourself American, you must have visited one of these with your family some summer long ago.
And so with great pride in my country’s preserved diversity, I found Yosemite one winter afternoon, and will always be grateful I did. How to describe the overwhelming sense of peace in that valley, fed by endless waterfalls, overlooked by the icons of el Capitan, Half Dome, and Glacier Peak? Do you know what complete silence sounds like against the cold on your ears after being inundated by the choir of cities day after day? You will just have to go and see.
Patriotism itself goes many ways, but someone boasting about the real beauty of this country showcases pride at its best. Tell me how big it is, and how different the rainy days of Seattle are from the sunshine of Miami, New York City's bustling from the laid back vibes of Venice Beach. Talk about the little crevices you have seen, those you want to see, and how you could spend your entire life traversing all of our states and not see it all. I devour that conversation.
The world grows smaller and smaller. What once took more than two days from San Francisco by train, horse, and carriage, now takes under three hours by car. Civilization approaches, and yet, the Yosemites few and far between live on.
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