Abbey, and His Fear of Progress
Edward Abbey
The day that the gray jeep with the U.S. Government decal and "Bureau of Public
Roads" on it, Edward Abbey knew that progress had arrived. He had foreseen it,
watching other parks like his, fall in the face of progress. He knew that
hordes of people and their "machines" would come (Abbey 50-51). Most people see
progress as a good thing. Abbey proclaims. "I would rather take my chances in a
thermonuclear war than live in such a world (Abbey 60)."
"Prog-ress n. forward motion or advance to a higher goal; an advance; steady
improvement (Webster's)." Is progress really all of that? How can you improve
on mother nature? Progress actually detracts from the parks natural beauty.
Cars, litter, and vandalism can all be attributed to "progress." In this frame
of thinking "progress" kind of contradicts it's self.
The most detrimental aspect of progress is the automobile. "'Parks are for
people' is the public-relations slogan, which......
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Approximate Pages: 6 (260 words per double-spaced page) |