Monarch conservation. Connecting America’s youth to its sacred natural spaces. Building community through recreation. The power of parks. You’ll find all these themes in this issue of Parks & Recreation magazine, and in the September 1990 issue, you’ll find “Looking Inward to Save the Outdoors” by Daniel L. Dustin, which posits a lens through which all might be viewed.
In the piece, Dustin outs himself as a revolutionary — the kind who eschews conspicuous consumption in service to a deep reverence for our environment. Dustin is not a socialist or communist, but he does push back against the capitalist imperative of acquiring more, more, more.
Dustin examines our failure to act as thoughtful stewards of our natural resources, despite knowing that these resources are essential for our very survival. He calls out his readership for shirking democratic and ecological responsibilities in favor of blind consumption. Dustin’s words admonished his audience in 1990 and sting just as smartly today. He writes: “Barring a radical reduction in birthrates, a radical increase in death rates or a radical change in the way we live our lives in-between, I am convinced we will bear witness to the progressive degradation and impoverishment of the earth’s natural resource base in our lifetime. In spite of a growing awareness of our planet’s limits, we continue to measure the ‘health’ of our lifestyles by the rate at which we go through resources. We continue to perceive increased consumption as a sign of ‘well-being.’ We continue to rely on the accumulation of material goods as the best indicator of a ‘successful’ life.”
It is the acknowledgement of this truth that cements Dustin’s status as a revolutionary, if not in the field of parks and recreation, then as opposed to a stereotypical “Good American.” He cites the words of Lewis Lapham, the legendary journalist, author and longtime past-editor of Harper’s Magazine, writing: “What I’m saying stabs at the heart of a commercial democracy. As Lewis Lapham describes it, ‘Of all the subversive doctrines likely to wreck the American dream of paradise…the most subversive is the one that the ancient Greeks expressed as the Golden Mean and the early Christians as the virtue of temperance. Were a majority of Americans suddenly to say, “I have enough…No, I don’t think I’ll buy anything more this week,” the country would soon fall into ruin.’”
Dustin finally distills his message to its radical essence: “The problem with a nation such as ours is that we have no relationship with the land other than what can be realized economically from it.”
As we continue to look to the future during our 50th anniversary celebrations, as we celebrate 30 years of devoting an entire month to park and recreation awareness, and as we look for ways to connect our children to nature and develop them as considerate stewards of the environment, we should heed Dustin’s rallying call: “What, then, do I expect of the park and recreation profession in this day and age? I expect three things: First, I expect us to put our heads together and try to reach a consensus about the kind of world we live in…Second, I expect the park and recreation profession to serve as this society’s environmental conscience…and Third, I expect each and every one of us within the park and recreation profession to set an example, to demonstrate environmental wisdom in the conduct of our own lives.”
Samantha Bartram is the Executive Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine.