2001 Yosemite Winter Literary Conference

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2001 Yosemite Winter
Literary Conference
.z
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Purpose

• To explore a spiritual, philosophical, and
  realistic approach to the needs of the Sierra
  Nevada

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Spiritual
Spiritual


Have you read the words of John Muir, and
contemplated his souls search for the truth?
In wilderness lies the hope of the world-the
great, fresh, unblighted, unredeemed wilderness.
The galling harness of civilization drops off,
and the wounds heal ere we are aware. How
can we heal the environmental wounds of our
world? Do we need a philosopher,
environmentalist, poet, teacher, student, or
naturalist to do it? Can we stop the
merry-go-round of the world and focus on the
beauty and the beast in our midst? How can we
salve the wounds of pollution, noise, lack of
energy, and fear of the unknown that lies in the
heart of this beast? How can we focus clearly on
what we need to do to save this planet? Through
soul-searching words, thoughts, and finally
deeds, we can herd the beast into oblivion. The
question is how?

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Thoreau's Philosophy

• Government is best which governs least. This
  quote, by Thoreau, rekindles the ideology that
  we, as a race, should preserve the natural beauty
  that God has bestowed upon the earth without
  interference from the government. Man has taken
  it upon himself to be a dictator over all other
  life on the planet. In this case, nature
  suffers the consequences of mans plowing,
  logging, and burning, all to solace the
  avaricious desires of men. A dictatorship of any
  kind is destructive and cruel, but even more so,
  when it comes to the environment.

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Miwok Philosophy

• The Sierra Miwoks felt a perfect oneness in their
  surroundings. Centuries ago, these beautiful
  people tucked themselves away in the dark foliage
  of the Sierra Nevada. They were bound by a belief
  that the Great Creator designed them all equally
  to share the beauties of nature together. This
  gave them an extraordinarily high degree of
  respect for all living things.

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Reality Check
We now face an energy crisis of enormous
proportions. The government has taken Thoreaus
advice deregulation. And what has transpired?
The environmentalists have fought tooth and nail
to see that no new plants are built. They are
doing their spiritual duty protecting the
earth.
Now, what would the Miwoks do if faced with this
crisis? Let us think like an Indian. Let us go
back to our roots. Can we survive without more
power plants? Is it enough to conserve on an
individual basis? Can we learn from our Miwok
past? These are questions that we hope to raise
at this conference.