Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Grand Canyon

Thanks to Ken Burns' The National Parks, Americas Best Idea I heard this great quote that I wanted to share.

If I were an American, I should make my remembrance of it the final test of men, art and policies. I should ask myself: Is this good enough to exist in the same country as the Canyon? How would I feel about this man, this kind of art, these political measures, if I were near the Rim? Every member of the Federal Government should remind himself with triumphant pride, that he is on the staff of the Grand Canyon.

J.B Priestly, Midnight on the Desert, 1937

4 comments :

Anonymous said...

Awesome quote & I'm glad you shared. :)

Wish kids took a step back more often to reflect & critique.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for posting this! I watch the National Parks series when it came out and absolutely loved this quote, but I forgot about it until now. I'm so glad I found it!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much. I live in Australia and watched this documentary and was also incredibly touched/captivated by Priestly's sentiment, which remains relevant and timeless. It should actually be the international "benchmark" to use before people/Government's mess with Mother Nature.

On One Condition said...

Thanks for your thoughtful comment. I agree wholeheartedly!