What kind of country do we live in for
people to do something like this?
We're almost four weeks into our
government shutdown now, and among the places hardest hit are our
National Parks. Almost all of them are closed, and the public isn't
allowed to enjoy the wonders and the splendors they provide. That,
though, isn't stopping people from going into the parks and doing
some major damage to them. I don't know if you saw the story, but
there are apparently a bunch of people going into the Joshua Tree
National Park in California and literally cutting down the trees that
give the park its name.
People are cutting down trees that have
been around for a millennia just because there's no one there to stop
them. How...damaged does someone have to be to do something like
that? I just don't get it.
When I saw the story I couldn't believe
it. That would be like someone covering the entirety of the
McCarty's Cove beach in Marquette with cement just because no one was
stopping them. What has to go through someone's mind to make them
think they can destroy a unique piece of nature just because they
can? Things like beaches and National Parks for there for the
enjoyment of everyone. Why does one person (or one group of people)
feel they can trash it just because?
Sometimes, I don't get people. I
really don't.
I know I joke in here a lot about being
more European than American, and it's not just because of what my DNA
test results say. In places like France and Germany, there are rules
that people follow just because it's for the good of society as a
whole. You wouldn't see a German person go into the Black Forest and
try to cut it all down just because they could. Europeans realize
that rules benefit everyone, and that's why almost everyone follows
them. I get that. I agree with that. I think it's great.
In the U.S., though, there is a (small)
subset of people for whom rules are just suggestions, and not laws.
I realize that this country was founded on the breaking of rules, but
that was two and a half centuries ago. Things have changed since
then. We now have speed limits because they help save people's
lives. We have leash laws in places like Marquette so both dog
owners and non-dog owners can co-exist to the mutual benefit of both.
And we have laws that forbid cutting down 1,000 year old trees so
that everyone can enjoy them. Yet, there are apparently people who
don't give a rip about laws, who don't give a rip about being part of
a society of many, who don't give a rip about whether or not their
actions affect other people. I don't know why they feel that way, I
don't know why they think their actions are okay. I don't know why
they think they can go out and damage an irreplaceable treasure just
because no one's there to stop them.
I just don't get it. And I just don't
get the people who do things like that. I'd like to think they'll
someday be caught & punished, but the cynical part of me knows
that probably won't happen. However, you know what they say about
karma, and if there's any justice in the world those people will one
day be on the receiving end of it.
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