civilized ku # 365-67 ~ pure, unadulterated populist bullshit
Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 09:57AM 
Snowy scene ~ Newcomb, in the Adirondack PARK• click to embiggen
Snowmobiles ~ Long Lake, in the Adirondack PARK• click to embiggenIn my recent entry, what the world needs now is NOT love, sweet love, a comment was left that suggested:
Most people don't want a big costly controlling government ... [I]t's about taking back our country and economy ... Live free or die. (emphasis mine)
Other than pointing out the fact that the comment is little more than a pavlovian-like spewing of FOX Network simpleminded sloganeering, I don't have that much to say about it except to state that I hadn't noticed that our country had been taken away. I get up every morning and go about my business in pretty much the same way that I always have for the past 6 decades or so. I feel absolutely no need to die, because I have been living free all these long years.
However, that stated, let me tell you about a little experience, including a missed picture making opportunity, I had this past weekend - the wife and I went a few miles south into the Adirondack Park - remember, we live in a park (and, in general, why is it that the further south you go, the dumber it seems to become?) - to get the lay of the land in search of some vacation property.
Long story short, we ended up spending the night in Long Lake, which is a nice little village in the north central region of the Park. Over the past decade, the town has had a problem with its water supply and it appeared, correctly so, that the only solution to the issue was to obtain its water from a nearby source which was located on state land.
Unfortunately, this use was not allowed by the "Forever Wild" amendment to the NYS Constitution, Article VII, Section 7 which was unanimously ratified on Thursday, September 13, 1894, by all 112 delegates to the NYS Constitutional Convention. In the fall of that same year, the voters of the state approved the addition to the Constitution. In 1938 the clause was given its own article in the Constitution, Article XIV.
Now, for purposes of this discussion, it should be noted that the state lands "now owned or hereafter acquired, constituting the forest preserve as now fixed by law" were then and are now the state lands within the Adirondack Park, a park created by the state, i.e. - "fixed by law", in 1892.
So it was, as I was picturing the snowmobiles on Long Lake, I noticed - but did not picture - 2 nearby vehicles that had identical bumper stickers afixed that read:
The Adirondacks is not a park.
It's where I live and
It's where I work.
The bumper sticker emerged, as the result of populist anger, during the long course of the Long Lake water situation. Unfortunately, and not unlike most other recent populist sloganeering, it has a major flaw that any half wit, especially any half wit living in the Adirondack Park, should know - the Adirondacks is a park and has been for last 125 years or so. If you live here, you live in a park. If you work here, you work in a park.
It really is that simple.
Of course, the populists believe (and have done so even before the Park's founding) that their right to do anything they want has been taken away by "downstate" elite and effete residents and their elected officials. Those evil doers who, in the name of "taking our country away", want to drive out the locals so that they can vacation in peace and quiet in their own private park.
What the populists fail, or more likely, refuse to recognize is the fact that Article XIV required the approval (by vote) of all of "the people" of NYS in order for it to be enacted into law. And "the people" did so and have continued to do so again and again by defeating (at the ballot box) repeated attempts to weaken or change the "Forever Wild" protections afforded state lands within the Adirondack Park.
"The people" also continue to approve (at the ballot box) the money to acquire more land from within the Park boundaries (the Blue Line)- from private hands when it becomes available. Land that is added to those with "Forever Wild" protection. "The people" and their duly elected officials, acting in their capacity as caretakers and owners, recognize both the value and the responsibilities inherent in having such a unique and treasured natural asset.
So, once again, the "populists" have got it wrong. No one is "taking their country away". If they abide by the rules, they can live free and not have to die to do so.
It is also very worth noting that the Long Lake / Raquette Water District was allowed - by an vote/approval by 73% of "the people" of NYS to amend Article XIV - to have access to that 1 acre of State Forest Preserve Land which solved their water problem.
So there, not all of us nazi•socialist-tree•hugging-commie•pinko•facist-bastards are trying to "take the country away".
gravitas et nugalis
Regarding the picture posted with this entry, Featured Comment: Matt Kuchta asked: "The selective use of focus: how much of it is in-camera/in-computer?"
my response: Matt, it's all in-camera - f2.8 @ 150mm (35mm equiv.) focal length gets it done every time.
Reader Comments (4)
That argument is to complex, to well reasoned and to well researched for me to comprehend. As a favor, could you please put it in bumper sticker or T-shirt form.
Thank You in advance for dumbing down.
The Adirondacks is a Park
Its where I live
Its where I telecommute
Oh… Now I get.
Mark,
The selective use of focus: how much of it is in-camera/in-computer?
I like the way the isolated sharpness "yanks" the objects out of the picture plane.