So here I am, some 3000 road miles from Painted Post, enjoying this historic place, the site of the first British settlement in this part of the world. There are plenty of signs of their visits prior to setting up here to establish a fur trade center to compete with the Russian presence in Alaska. For instance, Captain James Cook left a bottle near what is now Anchorage containing a note claiming that part of the world for the King. There is a fine statue of him at Anchorage. Mt. Hood, Portland's local volcano was named for a British Admiral and Lewis and Clarke, on entering Oregon Territory, found that the Indians had many English words and possessed English sailors' jackets! Oregon Territory came to include British Columbia, northern Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. California was then under the influence of Spain and was really part of Mexico.
The Louisiana Purchase led to a great change and, with Jefferson's initiative, the Lewis and Clarke expedition brought back a better idea of what was beyond the Mississippi. Even before their return, many settlers were heading up the Mississippi into the Missouri...going West! However, on the other side of the Rockies, those Brits had quite a strong presence through the fur trade and visits of ships. It took a flood of settlers traveling the Oregon Trail to make fast the claim of the US in this part of the New World. In Kennewick WA, on the bank of the Columbia River, there is a plaque memorializing the President's instructions to the Army Corps of Engineers to get the road through and over the Cascade Range so that settlers could ensure the presence of Americans against the British influence in what is now the Seattle area, during the 1850s.
Immersed as I may be in all this history, the immediate reason for my being over here is to deliver my car to its new owner, visit friends, and celebrate several birthdays. Nonetheless, my interest in history provoked a desire to visit Rapid City in South Dakota. This city is near Mt. Rushmore on the side of which are carved the faces of four Presidents of critical influence in US history (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and 'Teddy' Roosevelt). I hope that there is room for another and that, one day, the face of Obama will be there also. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was there on August 10th, 1936, for the dedication of the face of Jefferson (this had to be done a second time due to weakness in the granite found during the first attempt at carving his face). FDR had no intention to make a speech but, so impressed was he by the memorial, he had this to say,
".....There will be (other dedications) by other presidents...when we get through there will be something for the American people that will last through not just generations but for thousands and thousands of years, and I think that we can perhaps meditate on those Americans of 10,000 years from now...meditate and wonder what our descendants - and I think they will still be here - will think about us. Let us hope... that they will believe we have honestly striven every day and generation to preserve a decent land to live in and a decent form of government to operate under."
FDR said these words during particularly difficult times - the Great Depression still held sway - with many characteristics of our own time. What with climate change crisis and impending loss of cheap energy, nations face the challenge of re-inventing the essence of our culture to save not just American life but that of our human race and countless species. One must admire his optimism about the endurance of our species and our life but it is open to question where his sense that there will be those around in ten millennia who will applaud our efforts. I pray there will be but we will have to reach deep into wisdom, courage, creativity, and collaboration to ensure a good outcome.
Two books I am reading are assisting me to see that there may be a way through our impending troubles:
'The Green Collar Economy', by Van Jones; and
'Resilient Cities', by Peter Newman, Timothy Beatley, and Heather Boyer.
I like these books because they are showing me that there are actions I can take that are beyond personal survival, that we as individuals can find ways to influence the development of our cities and towns that may ameliorate or even avert the troubles that we will surely bring down upon our heads if we do little, or not enough.
I am sure that Obama is on the right track; reading these two books will show you why. I recommend them to your reading. I will pass on my own gleanings in future blogs. In the meantime, food for thought:
It is time to shift our attention from what we have inherited from our parents to what we are borrowing from our children.
FDR said these words during particularly difficult times - the Great Depression still held sway - with many characteristics of our own time. What with climate change crisis and impending loss of cheap energy, nations face the challenge of re-inventing the essence of our culture to save not just American life but that of our human race and countless species. One must admire his optimism about the endurance of our species and our life but it is open to question where his sense that there will be those around in ten millennia who will applaud our efforts. I pray there will be but we will have to reach deep into wisdom, courage, creativity, and collaboration to ensure a good outcome.
Two books I am reading are assisting me to see that there may be a way through our impending troubles:
'The Green Collar Economy', by Van Jones; and
'Resilient Cities', by Peter Newman, Timothy Beatley, and Heather Boyer.
I like these books because they are showing me that there are actions I can take that are beyond personal survival, that we as individuals can find ways to influence the development of our cities and towns that may ameliorate or even avert the troubles that we will surely bring down upon our heads if we do little, or not enough.
I am sure that Obama is on the right track; reading these two books will show you why. I recommend them to your reading. I will pass on my own gleanings in future blogs. In the meantime, food for thought:
It is time to shift our attention from what we have inherited from our parents to what we are borrowing from our children.
1 comment:
Hiya Dad,
As always your blogs let me know what you are up to, give me a good sense of what you are enjoying and take me on a virutal ride with you - love it heaps hey.
Just a quick one - your Grandson (Master JK Duckmanton) is going to start big-school next week...i'm sending a note to all about it. Very weird but quite a cool feeling that my son is now off on his educational journey!!
Lots of love and all that good stuff.
Andrew
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