Robert Romano
We Are Wilderness
Wilderness has been around for the best and worst times of history and has always played a key role in the life of our planet. Wilderness was there when Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert, but wilderness was also there to give men such as Henry David Thoreau an experience with the divine world. An idea of Cronon’s that aroused questions within me was when he stated that “If nature dies because we enter it, then the only way to save nature is to kill ourselves.” I found this quote to be very radical and inaccurate because humans are nature and we as a species are biologically designed to live in union with nature. I definitely do see the author’s ideas intertwining very nicely into my mini-essay due to the fact that the author is a lover of nature and the SUNY Geneseo campus is a sensational place that truly shows the world the true beauty of wilderness.
If we as humans are “designed to live in union with nature,” why are so many species of organisms going extinct?
I thought the quote about killing ourselves to preserve nature was a powerful moment in Cronon’s essay. I think the line directly after it is also important. “The absurdity of this proposition flows from the underlying dualism it expresses.” The idea that many environmentalists have that the problem with nature is humans is inaccurate because we ourselves our nature, and this division between the wild and civilization destroys any opportunity we have to work as a part of nature. And I agree Cronon would love the SUNY Geneseo campus due to it’s ability to make the simplest aspects of nature seem magical and important.
This is a well written piece and I enjoyed how you analyzed his piece and used the “they say, I say” technique.
This is straight fire man. I love the part when jesus was almost tempted by the devil but the holy spirt saved him. Keep up the good work