Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education
Print Reference
pp. 2-3
Abstract
Using ecopsychology as a theme, this issue of Taproot rightfully begins with a salute to Michael Cohen. Janet Thomas provides readers with a well-written overview of Michael's life and work in On All Nine Legs - Teaching Outdoor Love to an Indoor World. Like Cohen, Jeannette Armstrong sees a form of insanity that grips modern cultures-a sickness that can only be cured by reconnecting with the natural world that nurtures us. As a Native American (Okanagan), Armstrong provides an outsiders view of the "wild and insane" lifestyles lived by humans in a consumer- oriented world. In Keepers of the Earth, she argues that, among other maladies, we have lost the capacity to bond with anything of lasting value as we pursue endless temporary fixes offered by the market place. Her comments bring to mind a line from one of country music singer George Strait's latest songs - "they don't put luggage racks on hearses." Are we foolishly trying to blot out our mortality and reality by accumulating things? Perhaps we should remember Ayn Rand's (Atlas Shrugged) observation: "We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the grim consequences of evading reality." This seems apt advice for us individually and for the health of the planet.
Recommended Citation
Yaple, Charles
(2005)
"From the Editor,"
Taproot: A Journal of Outdoor Education: Vol. 15:
Iss.
1, Article 2.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.cortland.edu/taproot/vol15/iss1/2