However, this episode and the shutdown of parks and monuments has made me wonder who owns them and, by extension, who owns this country. I would suggest that many of the open spaces that have been shut down should be open to all citizens, even if the rest of the government is shut down. In theory these open spaces belong to us. Recall the recent Public Broadcasting Service television ad that showed many wild places in national parks and said, "This belongs to you". Well, maybe not anymore? (I am strictly writing of the parks and forests and monuments; the lands and treasures in our nation that we hold in common as citizens, and I am not making any inference about buildings, services and agencies.) I think, at least for this writer, there is a difference between my country and my government; the latter does not own the former. The shutdown has forced me to reckon with this issue and I think it is wrong to close access to the land and the monuments; they are owned by the people of the nation and not the government. The government's role is one of a caretaker to hold them in trust across generations, but we, the citizens, own the National Parks, Forests and Monuments. And I hope we still own this country.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Who owns this country?
The government shutdown is still in full swing and National Parks and National Monuments are closed. The news media are reporting that WWII veterans were not allowed to visit the WWII Memorial in Washington D.C. until Congress intervened. In fact our West Texas Senator, Randy Neugebauer, was in the news for disagreeing with a Park Service employee who refused to let the veterans visit the memorial. Good for him; the WWII veterans earned the right to visit the memorial that honors their service to the nation. Period.
However, this episode and the shutdown of parks and monuments has made me wonder who owns them and, by extension, who owns this country. I would suggest that many of the open spaces that have been shut down should be open to all citizens, even if the rest of the government is shut down. In theory these open spaces belong to us. Recall the recent Public Broadcasting Service television ad that showed many wild places in national parks and said, "This belongs to you". Well, maybe not anymore? (I am strictly writing of the parks and forests and monuments; the lands and treasures in our nation that we hold in common as citizens, and I am not making any inference about buildings, services and agencies.) I think, at least for this writer, there is a difference between my country and my government; the latter does not own the former. The shutdown has forced me to reckon with this issue and I think it is wrong to close access to the land and the monuments; they are owned by the people of the nation and not the government. The government's role is one of a caretaker to hold them in trust across generations, but we, the citizens, own the National Parks, Forests and Monuments. And I hope we still own this country.
However, this episode and the shutdown of parks and monuments has made me wonder who owns them and, by extension, who owns this country. I would suggest that many of the open spaces that have been shut down should be open to all citizens, even if the rest of the government is shut down. In theory these open spaces belong to us. Recall the recent Public Broadcasting Service television ad that showed many wild places in national parks and said, "This belongs to you". Well, maybe not anymore? (I am strictly writing of the parks and forests and monuments; the lands and treasures in our nation that we hold in common as citizens, and I am not making any inference about buildings, services and agencies.) I think, at least for this writer, there is a difference between my country and my government; the latter does not own the former. The shutdown has forced me to reckon with this issue and I think it is wrong to close access to the land and the monuments; they are owned by the people of the nation and not the government. The government's role is one of a caretaker to hold them in trust across generations, but we, the citizens, own the National Parks, Forests and Monuments. And I hope we still own this country.
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