Trees: A Concerned Rant

It is quite striking the tone that Muir sets in regarding these majestic Redwood forests in such high esteem. His personification of them really draws the reader in with a strong emotional appeal. For example, when he compares the utilization of the luxurious wood from Calaveras trees to the gourmet preparation of our beloved George Washington's carcass. Muir's bold comparison is insightful and necessary in order to strike a chord in a dominantly anthropocentric society. So many people consider plants to be "dead." That is such a moronic and mindless thought. Plants are by no means dead, in fact they are crucial in bringing life to every other living thing on this planet; to the planet itself even. The industrial, expansionist, utilitarian, John Locke-ian notions of raping the land based on the reasoning of "we can, so we should" is gross. John Locke has actually been quoted as saying such things as, "the negation of nature is the path toward happiness," and "land that is left to nature is waste." Does a tree's greatness need to be proven by the showmanship of gentlemanly qualities, the acquisition of riches, or the dominion over lowly subjects? No. It is common sense to see how these trees are sacred, beautiful, strong, and worthy of the respect of "rational" humans. They have stood the test of time, some being over 3,000 years old, have been home to countless species, provided the oxygen that pumps through our bodies, prevented the erosion of our prized American frontier, and been the source of great awe and inspiration for millions of people who have laid their eyes on these magnificent forests. All of this without breaking them down for raw materials. It is the reconsideration of concepts like these that is helping to shape the environmental revolution. People are starting to realize the idiocy of people like John Locke and take on the compassion of people like John Muir.

Sorry if this is a bit of a rant. I know that not everyone shows such moronic disregard and lack of insightfulness about the environment. This reading I suppose hit me as a sort of rallying cry. Muir's passion and respect towards these trees, as simple as they may seem, is a beautifully poetic cry for help that touches upon a larger issue of general environmental consideration.