20 Nov 2017

Pencil maker, gardener, surveyor, author/poet, elitist, loner, and poster boy for enviro-purists, Henry David Thoreau, appeared on the Earth in 1817.   This anniversary is celebrated primarily for his revered (by the soft path crowd) work, Walden, and to a lesser degree, Civil Disobedience and other tomes, poetry and tracts.

A relatively harmless oddity in his time, through no conscious intent he laid the groundwork for an environmental movement that developed into a faux religion.  To his credit, he was a vocal and vigorous abolitionist.  His contemporaries encouraged him to explore some of his zanier notions, and the marquee result was the record of his time at Walden Pond, near his Concord home.

These contemporaries in 1836 formed a club labeled “Hedges Club” devoted to exploring liberal concepts.  It was later derogatorily dubbed The Transcendental Club by James Elliot Cabot.  Cabot, a biographer of Ralph Waldo Emerson, wrote of the group as “the occasional meetings of a changing body of liberal thinkers, agreeing in nothing but their liberality” and their idealist frustration with the general state of American culture and society at the time.  Thoreau is credited with coining the ubiquitous phrase, “…march to the beat of a different drummer.”

From the ramblings of Thoreau, and those from the Hedges Club and his mentor Emerson, on into the 21st century, to Occupiers, Jerry Brown/Al Gore acolytes and the legions of crackpots assembled to the drumbeat of “Nature – GOOD, Mankind – BAD! one truly inconvenient truth is unassailable.

Three “I” s run the table – Ingenuity, Innovation and Improvements to quality of life.

Life for most has improved and will continue thanks to these three unassailables.  The march of progress in shrinking footprints, efficiency and reduced energy intensity herald a new prosperity, even for the most deprived among us.  Interesting fact: Since 1990 U.S. energy intensity (the unit of energy required to produce one unit of GDP) has declined every year to 60 percent of what it was slightly more than two decades past, according to the International Energy Agency.

These positives haven’t slowed the nature boys and girls from railing against the evils of mankind, manufacturing conveniences of all kinds and industrialization.  Thoreau is widely “acclaimed” as the founder of the “Nature” as divine essence…a variation on the pantheism of his mentor, Emerson.  The nub of the philosophy is that an ideal spiritual state transcends the physical and empirical and that one achieves insight via personal intuition rather than religious doctrine.

It seems unlikely that the Universal force is a tapestry of all flora and fauna – of sagebrush, peppergrass blades, house flies and everything else.  Walt Whitman had this Earth-centric pantheist concept as the centerpiece of his turgid, tiresome maunderings in Leaves of Grass and elsewhere.  While Whitman was something of a vagabond, Thoreau engaged in a variety of pursuits, from the trivial to the curious.

Through his various pursuits, he was conflicted, standoffish and essentially humorless.  At various times tutor, schoolmaster, pencil factory employee, surveyor, writer, traveler, poet, ecologist, repairman and gardener.  He employed products of modern society, but lamented the technology that brought them forth.

In this he was the model for the modern enviro and the attendant angst.  They oppose the development of the Earth’s resources but blithely utilize the resulting products – automobiles, gasoline, electricity from hydrocarbons, plastics, medicines, cosmetics and the incredible array of innovations that make commerce, leisure pursuits and living controllable and enjoyable.

His two years flying solo at the pond were the model for John Muir, Sierra Club founder.   Muir would disappear in the Sierra Nevada for months and upon returning exult in the cleansing, in the wilderness experience, in the invigoration and dropping such homey observations as, “Man is always and everywhere a blight on the landscape.”

A primary difference between the two, Thoreau was only two miles from town at Walden and he heard the train whistle close by multiple times daily.  Waxing poetic on bean fields for multiple pages and scolding those who don’t adopt his philosophy and life model grow as tiresome as today’s enviro-hectoring.

Open the kimono on Thoreau’s notions related in Walden and you have the chapter and verse of today’s enviro/climate change/renewables/anti-conventional fuels self-congratulatory recipes of the Tom Steyers and Al Gores.  To wit:

  • “There is no odor so bad as that which arises from goodness tainted. It is human, it is divine, carrion.  If I knew from a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life…” Economy, Walden.
  • “I aspire to be acquainted with wiser men than this our Concord soil has produced…it is not all books that are as dull as their readers…” Reading, Walden.
  • “Many of the phenomena of Winter are suggestive of an inexpressible tenderness and fragile delicacy…with the gentleness of a lover he adorns the tresses of summer.” Spring, Walden.
  • “I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad.” Civil Disobedience

His self-aggrandizement and surly demeanor are echoed in today’s enviro hysteria and truculence…with a major addition…there’s power to be grabbed and money to be made in the enviro game.  Bald intolerance running through Thoreau’s work is the hallmark of environmentalist excesses today.  Conventional ideas and images are scorned and attacked until they’re reduced to rubble.  Similarly, Thoreau’s disdain for his fellow man runs through Walden and elsewhere.  He wrote in 1843, “I walked through New York yesterday – and met no real and living person.”

The narcissism and nihilism fairly scream at the reader…not unlike the haughty “I feel so good about me” attitudes of today’s provincial “emancipated” know-it-alls on climate change and all things environmental.  No questions may be abided, the science is settled, the planet is doomed, and mankind must be reformed, upbraided, scolded and punished — not necessarily in that order.

The anniversaries of civilization’s landmarks famous and infamous alike come and go…many with scarcely a raised eyebrow. Thoreau’s mark on civilization, though celebrated in some quarters now, is likely to pale over time.

Up next, 100 years ago inhuman evil up close and personal was birthed with the ascension of Bolshevism in Russia.  This one will never go quietly into the night…

[top]
73 Responses to Thoreau at 200
  1. Pretty amazing to think about those who are still remembered long before they were captured in the social media web. Thanks for reminding all of us about this man.

  2. Not the most charming of men, but clearly neither passive nor reticent.

  3. Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your webpage? My website is in the exact same niche as yours and my visitors would really benefit from a lot of the information you provide here. Please let me know if this alright with you. Thank you!
    http://toy-shop.top/

    http://losswind11.mybjjblog.com/first-person-shooter-rexuiz-free-to-play-game-4178043

    http://senot.win/
    http://randu.xyz/

  4. I simply want to say I’m beginner to blogging and truly enjoyed your blog site. More than likely I’m likely to bookmark your blog . You surely have impressive articles. Thanks a lot for sharing with us your website page.

  5. I just want to say I’m very new to weblog and seriously enjoyed your web site. Likely I’m want to bookmark your blog post . You certainly have fabulous articles. Thank you for sharing your blog.

  6. I really can’t believe how great this site is. Keep up the good work. I’m going to tell all my friends about this place.

  7. I have read so many articles or reviews regarding the blogger lovers however this article is
    in fact a pleasant piece of writing, keep it up.

  8. Keep on writing, great job!

  9. Hi there, just became aware of your blog through Google,
    and found that it’s truly informative. I am going to watch out for brussels.
    I will appreciate if you continue this in future.
    A lot of people will be benefited from your writing.

    Cheers!

  10. My family always say that I am wasting my time here at net, but
    I know I am getting familiarity every day by reading such good articles or reviews.

  11. Hello there, You’ve done a fantastic job. I’ll definitely digg it and
    personally suggest to my friends. I’m confident
    they will be benefited from this web site.

  12. An intriguing discussion is worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you should
    publish more on this subject matter, it might not be a
    taboo subject but usually people don’t speak about such issues.
    To the next! Many thanks!!

  13. Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I
    find It really useful & it helped me out a lot. I hope
    to give something back and help others like you helped me.

  14. I think this is one of the most vital information for me.
    And i’m glad reading your article. But wanna remark on some
    general things, The site style is wonderful, the
    articles is really great : D. Good job, cheers

  15. It’s nearly impossible to find educated people about this topic, but you seem like you know what you’re talking about!

    Thanks

  16. I do not even know the way I stopped up here, but I believed this publish used to be great.
    I don’t know who you’re however definitely you’re going to a
    famous blogger for those who aren’t already. Cheers!

  17. Thanks for finally talking about >Thoreau at
    200 <Loved it!

  18. I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your sites
    really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website
    to come back down the road. Many thanks

  19. I love what you guys tend to be up too. Such clever work and reporting!
    Keep up the amazing works guys I’ve added you guys to blogroll.

  20. It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate to this fantastic blog!
    I guess for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
    I look forward to brand new updates and will talk about this blog with
    my Facebook group. Chat soon!

  21. Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular post!
    It’s the little changes that will make the most important changes.
    Thanks a lot for sharing!

  22. Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an very long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear.
    Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say wonderful blog!

  23. Good post. I learn something new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon every day.

    It’s always interesting to read content from other writers and use a little something from their
    websites.

  24. Nice respond in return of this difficulty with firm arguments and
    telling all about that.

  25. Normally I do not read post on blogs, but I wish to say that this writeup very compelled me to try and do it! Your writing style has been surprised me. Thanks, quite great article. ekkceecefgkdaedd

  26. Your style is so unique in comparison to other folks I’ve read stuff
    from. Thank you for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I’ll just bookmark this blog.

  27. Howdy! This post could not be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my good old
    room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I
    will forward this page to him. Fairly certain he will have
    a good read. Thanks for sharing!

  28. An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who had
    been doing a little homework on this. And he actually ordered me breakfast due to the fact that I found it for
    him… lol. So allow me to reword this….
    Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending the
    time to talk about this issue here on your website.

  29. Hi all, here every person is sharing such know-how, thus it’s fastidious to read
    this weblog, and I used to pay a quick visit this webpage every day.

  30. Wonderful post! We are linking to this particularly great post on our site.
    Keep up the good writing.

  31. This is very interesting, You’re an excessively
    professional blogger. I have joined your rss feed and stay
    up for seeking more of your magnificent post.
    Additionally, I’ve shared your website in my social networks

  32. You should take part in a contest for one of the greatest websites online.
    I will highly recommend this blog!

  33. My partner and I stumbled over here different web address and thought I might
    check things out. I like what I see so now i
    am following you. Look forward to looking over your web page repeatedly.

  34. Hi! I realize this is sort of off-topic but
    I needed to ask. Does running a well-established blog such as yours require a lot of work?

    I am completely new to writing a blog but I do write in my journal on a daily basis.
    I’d like to start a blog so I can easily share my own experience and views online.
    Please let me know if you have any kind of suggestions or tips for brand new aspiring bloggers.
    Appreciate it!

    • Sorry for the delay in responding. Yes it does require time, especially attention to detail. Mistakes, even minor ones, detract greatly from the author’s credibility. I have been writing professionally for nearly 40 years — I would begin writing only about you are deeply familiar and have experienced personally. It’s best to keep it short, and write in simple declarative sentences. They have the greatest impact. Good luck, it is demanding work that is always awaiting your next entry…

  35. I’m now not certain the place you are getting your info, however great topic.
    I must spend a while studying much more or understanding
    more. Thank you for wonderful info I used to be looking for
    this info for my mission.

  36. This post gives clear idea in support of the new users of blogging, that
    genuinely how to do blogging.

  37. Piece of writing writing is also a excitement, if you be
    familiar with after that you can write if not it is complex to
    write.

  38. I for all time emailed this web site post page to all my friends, since if
    like to read it next my contacts will too.

  39. Hola! I’ve been reading your weblog for a while now and
    finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out
    from Houston Tx! Just wanted to mention keep up the great
    work!

  40. Appreciate this post. Let me try it out.

  41. If you are going for best contents like myself, simply go to see this web page daily since it presents feature contents, thanks

  42. Hey There. I discovered your weblog the usage of
    msn. That is an extremely smartly written article.
    I’ll be sure to bookmark it and return to learn extra of
    your useful info. Thanks for the post. I will certainly return.

  43. I really like reading an article that can make men and women think.

    Also, thank you for permitting me to comment!

  44. interesting ! Thanks for information !

  45. Thanks for your good website and information !

  46. I like the efforts you have put in this, appreciate it for all the great articles.

  47. As a Newbie, I am always exploring online for articles that can aid me. Thank you

  48. Magnificent site. Plenty of useful information here. I’m sending it to several friends ans also sharing in delicious. And certainly, thanks for your sweat!

  49. When someone writes an piece of writing he/she maintains the plan of a user in his/her mind
    that how a user can be aware of it. Therefore that’s why this post is perfect.
    Thanks!

  50. I absolutely love your blog and find nearly all of your post’s to be just what I’m looking for. can you offer guest writers to write content for you personally? I wouldn’t mind producing a post or elaborating on some of the subjects you write related to here. Again, awesome web log!

    • Only nearly all of my post’s (sic)? I’m disinclined to provide a forum for guest writers other than making their comments public, including their challenges in mastering the apostrophe. If you truly wish to elaborate on relevant subjects, go for it. If it meets standards, PolicyWorks will publish it.

  51. Woah! I’m really digging the template/theme of this site. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s hard to get that “perfect balance” between usability and appearance. I must say you’ve done a superb job with this. Additionally, the blog loads very fast for me on Chrome. Superb Blog!

  52. Nice read, I just passed this onto a friend who was doing a little research on that. And he just bought me lunch since I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch! “Too much sanity may be madness. And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be” by Miguel de Cervantes.

  53. Perfectly composed subject material, appreciate it for entropy. “The last time I saw him he was walking down Lover’s Lane holding his own hand.” by Fred Allen.

  54. Merely wanna remark that you have a very decent site, I enjoy the style and design it actually stands out.

  55. Hello, you used to write excellent, but the last several posts have been kinda boring… I miss your super writings. Past several posts are just a little out of track! come on!

    • See previous comment…I still write excellent, you — not so much. “Kinda” not one of my fave vocobule wurds. Past several posts are a months old, where have you been? Come on, yourself…

  56. You actually make it appear so easy along with your presentation but I to find this topic to be really something which I think I would never understand. It kind of feels too complex and extremely vast for me. I’m having a look ahead in your next publish, I will attempt to get the grasp of it!

  57. I think you have remarked some very interesting points , thanks for the post.

  58. Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this information. Today bloggers publish just about gossips and internet and this is actually annoying. A good web site with interesting content, this is what I need. Thanks for keeping this site, I’ll be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Can not find it.

  59. You are a very bright person!

  60. Comment *

    well, you can guess how much I liked this entry, Jack! Pure, unadulterated heresy!!!

  61. Comment *Thoreau was a devoted individualist, a freedom-fighter, and a man with a deep soul.

    • Indeed he was all that. One suspects his rather prickly nature sprang from his intense search for meaning, his probing of his own depths and resulting impatience with the superficial/banal. Of course criticizing HDT is there for the taking by those who cannot match him in written word, passion nor introspection. This heretic pleads guilty. I’ve previously noted the amusing quirk of the time — the use of all three names a person carries. Henry David Thoreau, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Percy Bysshe Shelley and the strangely only two-named John Keats and his odes to pottery, birds and flowers with fringes. While irrelevant to this discussion, this scribbler had to get it in somehow. But back to the existentialists. In that era, mighty questions on humanity and philosophy were in play, not that they haven’t always been. Much to his credit HDT vehemently opposed slavery. Perhaps the search for self-actualization was aided by the reading and discussion of the Upanishads which appeared in the western world in this era. His embraces of nature’s wonders, the beauty of solitude and search for deeper meanings of life reveal the shallowness of today’s eco-wackos who are all in on a clean environment as long as their rent-seeking goes unimpeded. If HDT were among us now, upon mingling with today’s greenies, one can hear him repeat his observation on walking New York’s streets, “I walked through New York yesterday — and met no real living person.” A better, more fitting conclusion to this discussion is another HDT quote, “Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”

  62. Comment *yeah, he was also nutty………andt he is not to be confused with government-mad current eco-nuts


[top]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.