‘Parks Go to War!’
Democracy Was Born, Affirmed, Defended in Our National Parks
Almost imperceptibly our Sun is tracking back north over Jamaica’s Blue Mountains following the Winter Solstice.
Happiest day, beloved Joy Train Rider! I love you! Bless you! I affirm we are doing well and will evolve spontaneously to do better. A lot of people are praying for an awakening, and I’m learning that planetary cycles that occur approximately every 26,000 years with the Precession of the Equinoxes are converging now, and our access to our divine selves is closer than ever. I’m all about that.
I chuckle how someone reading that might scoff, because the fact that I have seen the world from mountaintops in America, Europe, Asia and Africa, might allow them to appreciate how I might come by such an unusual perspective. Coupled with the empowering information I’m learning about ancient societies and how differently they might be interpreted from what we are commonly taught, I feel like I have a renaissance every day, all thanks to National Parks.
We just got back our wi-fi service for the first time since last week Tuesday, which is why I was unable to take the Joy Train out last Friday and Monday. Please forgive me.
In the interim the regime at the helm of our country launched an unsanctioned attack on a neighboring sovereign nation, not even consulting Congress. I think that marks a fork in the road that forces us to make a choice. Will we allow ourselves to be driven down the road to hell, or will we stand up to the bullies and begin to take actions that burnish our pearl of democracy. I completely agree with my new friend and Substack writer, The Time for Polite Disagreement is Over.
In the National Park System we find more treasure at the heart of the pearl that is America, including the place where the first shot was fired for liberation; the place where nationhood was affirmed with the issuance of our Constitution, the battlefields of the Civil War and the memorials to the service members who defended our country and our freedoms. Nowhere in the system do we have a record of the kind of kick in the teeth just administered to our constitution, our country and the world by the people having the fewest redeeming qualities. We must bring every effort to bear and repulse it.
I got today’s destination heading directly from the National Park Service’s website while looking up the Memorial to WWII.
“Parks Go to War!” it read. “National Parks were part of the war effort during WWII.” It focused on how the parks leadership managed to balance competing demands to the protection of our treasures and the defense needs of our country:
“The National Park Service (NPS) was only 26 years old when the United States entered World War II. The young bureau faced very real threats to its mission, with increasing pressure to contribute its natural and cultural resources to the war effort even as its budget and staff were slashed. Under the leadership of Director Newton B. Drury, the NPS was able to do its part for the war while maintaining its public trust responsibilities to the American people.”
This feels like the antithesis of where we are now, launching unprecedented attacks against OUR OWN National Park; invading foreign countries and generally deliberately foisting disease and unease upon the world. I’m delighted to have this information and guidance from the Pattiz Brothers: “A New Year for America’s Public Lands . . .What Comes Next. that tells us what we can do.
