Dear HCN,
Confused by the rhetoric
of the “Wise Use” movement? Here’s a handy
translation:
Like the dinosaurs, it’s a species
that just can’t adapt. The species in question can’t leap over
dams, thrive on freeways, or make a living in a cow
pasture.
Playground for Easterners. Any place in
the Western United States used for recreation by anyone from
outside the county.
They’re trying to take my
property. I have a scheme that will harm your property and I don’t
want any government regulations to stop
me.
Healthy forest. A tree
farm.
Dirt bike trails are needed so that women,
children, the disabled, and senior citizens can enjoy the outdoors.
I’m a 30-year-old man and out of
shape.
Rangelands of the West are in better
condition today than in my grandpa’s time. Things are better than
during the dust bowl days.
Hippies on food stamps
who don’t know what it means to work.
Environmentalists.
Rich newcomers who don’t have
to work for a living.
Environmentalists.
Washington bureaucrats who
don’t understand local conditions. The folks who work in the ranger
station down the street.
People who think animals
are more important than people. People who like animals besides
cows and sheep.
A “working river.” A river with
its entire flow committed to irrigation, or alternatively, a stream
that has been rendered fishless due to
pollution.
Ralph
Maughan
Pocatello,
Idaho
Ralph Maughan lives in
Pocatello, Idaho, where he works as a political scientist and
volunteers for the Sierra Club.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Rhetoric redefined.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
