Happy 101st birthday to the National Park System!
The motto of last year’s 100 year celebration was “America’s best idea.” I think it is hard to argue with that.
1. It was brilliant to preserve and maintain beauty. We are lucky the decision was made to maintain these cathedrals so that we can view them as they looked a century ago, and I’m glad that people will be able to enjoy them long after we are gone.
2. The NPS promotes and inspires appreciating the beauty of nature, and physical activity. The mental health of our people would be greatly improved if more people did this.
3. It unites us. I’ve been lucky enough to visit 14 national parks last year, and I was constantly saying things like “Wow”, “Oh my” and “That is incredible.” I don’t see how anyone couldn’t.
No matter where you fall on the in the political spectrum, religion, philosophy, or lifestyle- there is no way that you could not agree on how beautiful and amazing these places are if you saw them with your own eyes.
I’d love to take a big bus filled with people of every type, and get them to stand by side by side and just silently appreciate what we have been blessed with. We would all get along a lot better if we would take a minute to do that. It is tough to yell at each other when you are left speechless, as these parks so often do.
Thank you National Park System, you truly are “America’s best idea.”
THE UNFINISHED PYRAMID 