It seemed as though Todd Wilkinson’s column, “Where
do you draw the line?” was really asking, “Where should I draw the
line?” (HCN,
1/21/08). I was unable to connect the dots between his
reflections upon his own “lame and futile” political agitations of
the past to beg the title question for the rest of us. Just because
Mr. Wilkinson has not been engaged in attempts to actively generate
change since the early to mid-1990s does not mean that an entire
movement is currently in the midst of a “deep sleep.” Perhaps it is
Mr. Wilkinson who is asleep.
I also disagreed with the
author when he referred to his dissenting actions as “meaningless
gestures.” On the contrary, he incited the actions of others
through written words. And that is really all we can do when it
comes to affecting change in issues that concern us: Utilize our
skills and talents to do the best we can with what we’ve been
given. Mr. Wilkinson is an established author and columnist and has
the power to draw lines wherever he wants; people will read and
sometimes listen.
So, where should you
draw the line, Mr. Wilkinson? Preferably in the future as opposed
to dwelling darkly in the past with the ghosts of Thoreau and
Brower. For a start, how about an updated and in-depth article on
the plight of the Yellowstone bison? Such an article would reveal
an actual living eco-hero, Michael Mease, the founder of the
Buffalo Field Campaign. The BFC is a nonprofit organization that
has been hands-on in the field, confronting this issue every day
for over 10 years. It is full of courageous activists who do not
find “vigilance to be an inconvenience.”
Matthew
Bowser
Harrison, Montana
(Editor’s
note: We wrote about Yellowstone bison in “The Killing Fields,”
Dec. 6, 2006.)
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Wake up and smell the newsprint.
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