"A national park is more than just a scenic place. It's a nation's common ground." That's how National Geographic magazine described it when reminding us that our 59 national parks belong to all of us, meant to be for the use and enjoyment of every American.
Common ground is hard to find in the United States these days. The acrimony and coarseness permeating our political discourse and public dialogue has sharply polarized our country, leaving many of us disillusioned and causing some to lose sight of all that's right about America and all that we have in common. A national park is vivid evidence we are better than that, a gentle lesson to all who visit of our commonality and a picturesque reminder that we live in a beautiful and strong country, one which is good and right in so many ways. National parks give us something we all can be for and enjoy together.
National parks are not in "red states" or "blue states"; they are symbols of national pride in the United States. When you drive into a national park, you enter a place where there is no "us" or "them." No one will care who you are voting for, nor will anyone question your beliefs or make you feel like you don't belong there. All that matters is people from every walk of life are there to behold the wonders of nature and wildlife, to witness what God has given us and to be thankful for a country that had the foresight and will to protect these lands and to make them available to every man, woman and child who wishes to come.
A national park is good for what ails you. When you visit one of them, all you need to take is "an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy." It will lift your spirits, clear your mind and cleanse your soul. Enthralled by majestic surroundings and breathtaking vistas, all that bothers you is swept away. The noise and rush of everyday life disappears and one's proper perspective on life can be fortified. When you experience all that a national park has to offer, you acquire a heightened sense of the awesome power and grandeur of pure, undisturbed nature.
This year is the centennial celebration of the creation of the National Park Service. Fourteen national parks already existed in the United States in 1916, the oldest being Yellowstone, which had been established in 1872 as the first national park anywhere in the world. But our country needed an agency to define what a national park is or should be and we needed an agency directly responsible for managing and nurturing the existing parks and overseeing the establishment and management of new parks. It was "a big idea that has gotten bigger" through the years.
The National Park System is now comprised of 392 areas covering more than 84 million acres. These areas include national parks, national monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, lake shores, seashores, scenic rivers and trails, grave sites and other significant places recognized as national historic landmarks. The National Park Service puts it this way: "Visiting a national park is like traveling through an American history textbook, as the textbook educates us about the people, events, buildings, objects, landscapes and artifacts of the American past."
David Quammen writes in National Geographic: "Our national parks are not only scenic wonderlands but also preserve nature's diversity. They teach us as well as delight us. They inspire active curiosity as well as passive awe. They help us imagine. They carry a glimpse of the past into the present and, if our resolve holds and our better wisdom prevails, they will carry that into the future."
Each national park is unique with its own inherent beauty and magnificent features. Each in its own way is there to tell America's story. Having been to more than a dozen parks in recent years, I discovered each to be a memorable place and a testament to the true value of conserving nature for posterity. I also finally found a "senior discount" I actually wanted, which was a lifetime pass for free park entrance to all 59 national parks offered to U. S. citizens 62 years or older.
Historian Wallace Stegner, recognized by many as the dean of Western writers, captured it perfectly when he called national parks "the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst."
Commentary on 07/21/2016