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Mental Images, i.e. "Uglify"
NMB, Florida September 10, 2001 A.H. Schectman
THINKING ALLOWED
Essays on Issues, Ideas and Reflections on the Times. Published Now and
Then. Opinions Pro or Con Are Welcome.
MENTAL IMAGES, i.e. "UGLIFY"
I often have this picture in my mind of a logging expert who selects the
biggest tree in a forest. It has lived its life and it provides the
greatest amount of profit over the smaller trees around it. At the same time
I see this expert choosing a way to drop this tree so that it will least
injure the remaining trees in its downward path.
I also have the image of the clear-cutting machines that indiscriminately
empty huge swaths filled with old and new growth. I also think of the
destruction of the defenseless life these forests contain. I have seen the
mountains in Oregon and Washington where clear-cutting scars the beautiful
homes of priceless creatures living there.
19th century conservationists painted my mental images (or mind-pictures)
for me. They could see a time when the second practice would "uglify" the
land on which we live. They were not mainly interested in preventing
"uglification". They wanted to preserve and protect our heritage. Once
gone it would never be the same again.
My training in history also pictured the dry and empty lands where ancient
armies cut down trees that had been there since the beginning of time. I
saw the hills in Israel where forests have been replanted and the sere and
dry hills of Palestine that were created by warring forces traveling the
business and military route of the Fertile Crescent.
I have been to Italy and have seen the empty hills and mountains that
traverse its length. These trees provided wood for the fires of military
forces. They also provided the crosses needed to keep restive populations
in check by witnessing the ultimate in torture, Roman crucifixions.
Mental pictures stay with you especially when they tell you truths that
words cannot. You see the horror and the reality that some seer directs
your vision to. If you are lucky you can thus see the future. We are ruled
by those whose vision is limited and whose values are not with the trees and
the life in those forests. What do you think? Carol's Evaluation: 10 out of
10.
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