As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Independence Day there’s a lot of talk about patriotism. To me, it means a lot more than waving a flag and listening to a speech. Patriotism is a belief that our country, its beauty and its people are worth defending. I believe our national parks and public lands inspire patriotism because they are a perfect example of democracy in action. We have a duty to not just celebrate these places, but to protect them. This land is our land… but only if we are willing to continue fighting for it.
Our national parks represent the fundamental idea that the natural beauty of this country and its wildest places are worth protecting—and that they belong to all of us, not just the elite or privileged few. We don’t have the walled gardens of Versailles or the cloistered courtyards of Buckingham Palace; we have Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and the Great Smoky Mountains, open to all for pleasure, recreation and wonder in perpetuity, as national parks. Our national treasures aren’t jewels stored in a tower – they are our lands, waters, forests, mountains, and plains.
The Sierra Club has been at the vanguard of this effort.
Our national park system did not appear out of thin air. Our wildlife refuges and wilderness areas have not persisted merely out of goodwill. The American people fought – and will continue to fight – to protect these public lands from those seeking to turn them into a shadow of what they could be. The Sierra Club led the movement to start the national parks system in the 1890s, and we’ve defended our national treasures from attacks for decades, from stopping mining at the Grand Canyon to protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil drilling.
Some say that our national parks are America’s “best idea.” To me, these parks are actually the manifestation of America’s greatest idea: its commitment to democracy. Despite all its unfulfilled promises, the achievements of our democracy still stand as a shining example of what can happen when the voices of the people are heard. And, in our parks and public lands, the spirit of democracy truly can thrive. It is here where the wealthy rub shoulders with workers on equal ground, humbled before the great outdoors.
However, as we celebrate 250 years since we declared our independence, the basic principles of our government, a government as one by the people and for the people, is under unprecedented attack.
Nearly all of us agree that corporations should not be able to pave over our meadows, just as they should not control the halls of power. Oil and gas drills should not replace picturesque landscapes and wildlife, just as corporate polluters’ bottom line should not determine American policies. National parks and our classrooms are places to educate the public on the complete history of our evolution as a nation, not a whitewashed version of it. And neither our public lands nor our communities should be turned into tools of terror.
The fight to protect and preserve our national parks and public lands is a fight to protect our democracy. Both are principles enshrined in law and in the public conscience. But this will not live on for another 250 years without all of us continuing this work.
On July 4th, we celebrated our 400 national parks, 560 national wildlife refuges, and nearly 440 million acres of other public lands. They are the reason “America the Beautiful” does not describe parking lots and data centers, but instead the lands that are the essence of our incredible country itself. And we celebrate by continuing the fight for a functioning democracy to see the promise of every American being equal, of every American being endowed with the same unalienable rights.
No one person can take away our history, or rewrite our founding values. As the American experiment reaches its 250th year, our parks and public lands remain an important success. Working together to save our parks and wild places, and ensure everyone can witness and enjoy the beauty of our nation, is a necessary act of patriotism that must endure this year and for 250 more.
Join Sierra Club as we Celebrate our Natural Legacy. Grab our America 250 public lands sign, head outside to any outdoor place you love, and take a photo. Then share it with us and tag us at @sierraclub. Download your sign here or simply snap a selfie!