First Impressions

Not much time to write, but I did have a chance to read through the Acknowledgements and Introduction.

Emerson Blake's Acknowledgments details how the articles in the book are organized into six specific sections: 1) Action, 2) Refugees, 3) Boundaries, 4) Reverence, 5) Monsters, and 6) Native. Nothing too controversial here. Blake cites the purpose of the book as providing articles that "point toward a fuller understanding of the world and the possibility of the future" (vii). Make sense to me.

Barry Lopez writes the Introduction, and the language becomes a bit more charged. On page ix, he quickly suggests that we receive a "daily message" that "we don't know" everything. That, I think, is an important acknowledgement to make. On the following pages, though, Lopez makes some pretty definite assertions: 1) business is bad, 2) government is bad, and 3) civic groups are good.

The problem is: he sounds as though he believes business and government have no role in developing solutions to environmental issues. This fails to acknowledge that people run businesses, and people are elected to government offices. These same people may be involved in "social movements" too. Can't businesses and government encourage or lead social movements?

An interesting line: "Civic society has no staff, no address, no nation, no religion, no stake in commerce or policy making" (xi). First, I'm not sure that statement is entirely true, and second, even if it is true, what does it mean? Sounds very organic, but it also echoes of the ultimate goals of Marx. Am I wrong on this?

As you read, feel free to post your own impressions. If you want contributor status to make your own posts to this forum, please let me know.

Bret