The National Parks: An Embodiment of Democracy

Editor’s Note: This article was written by Colin just before the recent unprecedented flooding in Yellowstone, our nation’s first national park.  As we reflect on the significance of the upcoming July 4^th Anniversary – and the idea that the national parks are the Declaration of Independence applied to the land – the damage and closings that resulted from this disaster make us all appreciate the enduring treasures of our national parks more than ever.

There were no national parks within the range of my traveling capabilities when I was growing up. I didn’t really know what a national park was. The words didn’t evoke any kind of image within my experience. I never visited one until I was an adult. It took me a long time to learn to appreciate what a great thing the national parks are.

I have to credit the Ken Burns-Dayton Duncan film “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” for opening my eyes to the full magnitude of that idea. I was pretty much convinced of the truth of their thesis, that the National Parks really might be “America’s Best Idea,” after the founding of the country and the formulation of democracy itself.

In an interview, Duncan said, “I will make the argument that the national parks is our best idea. And the reason is because it is actually an expression of the Declaration of Independence applied to the landscape, which is that the most beautiful, most majestic, and, I would say, sacred places in our nation should be set aside not for royalty or the rich or the well connected, as it had been in all recorded history, but for everyone and for all time.”

Today the idea has been picked up all over the world. The International Union for Conservation of Nature counts more than 4,000 national parks. And that is good for the whole world. It means that many of the most beautiful places will be preserved for the benefit of all people. It’s a worthy aspiration toward a higher level of society than one that just lets exploiters run roughshod over everything.

The film grew out of Dayton Duncan’s deep passion for the national parks since his childhood. Duncan has worked with Ken Burns on almost every film, either as a consultant, writer or producer, going back to The Civil War. But it seems clear to me, from watching interviews with him, that the film about the national parks was a special favorite for him, and an intensely personal vision.

The national parks have been one of the most profound passions of…