Dear HCN,
“A treatise on columnist
Alexander Cockburn,” (HCN, 5/11/98), seems to be Jon Margolis’
search for a journalistic Viagra. So envious is Margolis that he
lashes out the gawky bewailment: “Cockburn has been abusing reality
for decades …” That’s bad? I hope someone has, or will, say the
same about me.
Margolis’ gripes range from
Cockburn’s anti-corporate populism to his views on U.S. foreign
policy. Even a charge of McCarthyism is thrown in for good measure.
(I was unaware that Cockburn had been elected to the U.S. Senate
and was abusing his official power.) But mostly Margolis flacks for
the National Wildlife Federation and the Defenders of Wildlife and
their role in Yellowstone wolf
reintroduction.
I’m sure Margolis will find this
impertinent, but I’m going to abuse his reality about environmental
corporations. The National Wildlife Federation and Defenders of
Wildlife, like all corporations and those who run them, are not
evil; they are amoral. Regardless of the personal beliefs or ethics
of their employees and executives, corporate responsibilities are
limited to decisions maximizing short-term rewards and minimizing
corporate obligations.
The corporate
responsibility of board of directors and managers of environmental
corporations is to sustain revenues. The National Wildlife
Federation and Defenders of Wildlife understand that headlines
about introducing Canadian wolves in Yellowstone create a
fund-raising cash cow. Should it become obvious next week that more
money can be extracted from individual and foundation donors by
advocating natural re-population of Yellowstone, the National
Wildlife Federation and Defenders of Wildlife will propose
extirpation of the introduced wolf
populations.
Yellowstone, because of its
popularity, attracts this kind of opportunism. Remember the New
World Mine near Yellowstone? National environmental organizations
drained millions in contributions to oppose the mine. Now that the
photo opportunities with Clinton are over, these opportunists are
also gone.
Margolis is right about one thing.
Babbitt is no rancher; he failed at that too. By the way, Cockburn
is a friend. But I have the clippings to prove that he has
occasionally severely boxed my ears
anyway.
Larry
Tuttle
Portland,
Oregon
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Margolis is just envious.
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