Hogan Journal: Politics in the Woods

By Dennis Lantz

Politics surround us. It is in us and permeates every social activity. Those who say they do not like politics do not understand that all interactions are political. They may dislike campaigns, slogans and power-hungry office seekers or feel aggrieved about taxes and lack of personal liberty, but the truth is that two humans cannot gather without one seeking or giving an advantage… emotional, physical, spiritual, psychological or other. By listening, we bond. By sharing we improve our community. By fighting for our beliefs we gain satisfaction and animal dominance. By thinking, we gain clarity. Hopefully.

I am currently reading Presidential Courage by Michael Beschloss. Without question, political motivations were in the hearts and soul of those who founded our country. Today’s attacks and high tension may seem new to us, but they are not without precedent.

Even in the woods we were not isolated from politics. Whenever Mark or I journeyed to the house we took the opportunity to scan the headlines of the The Daily Review. My parents didn’t have a television, so access to cable news wasn’t an option.

The biggest local news of the late spring seemed to be that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was seeking land for a nuclear waste dump. Letters to the Editor were better than Facebook. We read the NIMBY reactions as well as the writings of those who coveted the money such a site would bring.

I wrote the following letter and mailed it to then Governor Tom Ridge. I’m skeptical he read it. I also mailed a copy to the newspaper and they printed it.

A few months after I wrote this, I found myself thrust into the center of this argument at the local level. Read the letter with the mindset that it was written twenty-five years ago while I was in the woods. Keep reading to hear a new story – an incident that taught me an important lesson.

ROUGH DRAFT OF LETTER TO GOVERNOR TOM RIDGE (that is how it was written in my journal)

Governor Ridge:

This letter is written from the woods of Pennsylvania, not the magnificent forest that once was, but the still beautiful islands of trees surrounded by docile fields and intersected with unyielding paths of asphalt.

There has been a belief for centuries that we must somehow tame the land, bring it under our control to profit most from its use. This, of course, is an absurd notion, for when the land is orderly and tame, it will surely die. Thoreau wrote that in wilderness lies our salvation. The truth to that is now becoming known as more and more species’ habitats are burned, plowed under or covered over.

I once walked along a street in Philadelphia and saw a dandelion cropping up in the crack between the sidewalks, a thing of beauty, defiant. This little plant - that most people call a weed - was the only plant for blocks that was truly beneficial to our lives. As a source of food there are few equals. But, even as I was excited by its refusal to bow its head in a land where concrete, brick and glass lie like a cancer on the land, I was saddened by the fact that it was really now useless. Living where it did, soaking up the poisons of our society, it wasn’t even desirable as a food.

Beauty is not always indicative of health. As in the case of the dandelion, so it is with the clearest streams. No longer can we kneel to drink from them with any degree of safety for it is likely some farmer or the electric company or an upstream, upwind factory has sprayed unhealthy pesticides or spewed chemical toxins that leach and drain their way into it.

But it is not these few who are the greatest threat to our health and future; it is us. A growing population creates a greater abundance of waste and a greater chance of pollution. It also increases the chance of that pollution affecting a larger number of people. This population depends more and more on the land we are abusing, both as a source of food and as a place to live.

We can live on an unpolluted, healthy, productive earth. We can feed the growing number of our children and grandchildren. To do so we only have to look inward upon ourselves and recognize our individual responsibility to all of mankind.

Now the burden has been placed upon Pennsylvania to find a site for a nuclear waste dump. I could describe how harmful such a site will be, but many more eloquent than I will do so. I could write of the benefits of on-site storage for these wastes or a reduction in their production, but again, others will do so. I wish only to exhort our leaders to use wise judgment in their decisions. 

Our children and grandchildren must someday walk these same woods and fields and it is their safety and health we must defend. Instead of economic figures, let them be the basis for our decisions.

5/11/2020 – Many of my beliefs had no basis in logic or even science. While I still abhor pollution and advocate for clean water, air and earth, I do not believe that we must limit our population. I certainly do not believe that the State (government) has our interests in mind when creating regulations and restricting freedoms. They should never have the power to determine that one life is more valuable than another. Yes, the earth may have limited resources, but most of those we need are renewable. In my initial MY HANDPRINT blog, I wrote that we should reach for the stars and spread throughout the solar system and the universe. That makes more sense than bringing massive death in an effort to control everyone.

Not long after I left the woods… either for good or during a short mid-summer break… I read that a local woman (Laura) was organizing a group of ‘protesters’ to go to the Bradford County Courthouse for a commissioners' meeting. I was interested in her ideology and spoke with her a few times on the telephone. She implored me to go and show my support. So I told her I would.

Still sporting my scruffy, but quite spotty beard, I went to Towanda for the meeting. I don’t remember all of the commissioners from that time. I believe Mr. McNett and Mr. Goeckel were there. The third could have been Ms. Bok or Mr. Horton.

So I sat in an uncomfortable chair surrounded by people I did not know and listened to the commissioners and others drone on and on about topics that certainly impacted me, but did not interest me. When they eventually got around to the waste dump site it was barely given time. They didn’t yet have any details or information. I don’t think they had even had a preliminary meeting. 

Laura had a chance to talk. I don’t remember what she said. Perhaps others also spoke, but I don’t recall any. When the commissioners asked if anyone else had anything to say, no one responded. Laura turned to me and insisted that I say something.

I was not prepared. I had not expected to be thrust into such a position. At that point in my life I didn’t like talking in front of people. But she practically forced me to my feet.

And I quickly made a fool of myself.

“I’m not familiar with the details of the nuclear waste site dump,” I stammered. “I’ve been living out in the woods and haven’t been keeping up on all of the news.”  I must have said more. I certainly said that I was opposed to waste dumps, particularly nuclear ones. I probably said that I liked clean air and water. I know it was not a long speech. I sat down abruptly.

After the meeting concluded, people mingled. All of the commissioners spoke to me. They asked me about living in the woods. I wish I remembered their questions and my answers. I believe they were intrigued.

I vaguely remember someone (I don’t know if it was a commissioner) asked me if I was wasting my time or being productive. It was qualified with, “I don’t think I would want to do that, I’d rather be working.” Even at the time I thought they were foolish. I have nothing against work. I think more people should do it. Working is good for your mental and emotional health. It can also be good for your physical health, though not always. But staying out in nature can be good for all of those too. 

And it is good for your spiritual health. That’s important too.

The lesson I learned is that there are some moments in life that you can ‘wing’ and throw caution to the wind. Other times it is mandatory to be prepared.

Knowing the difference is essential. It’s probably somewhere in the book of wisdom that I haven’t found yet.

Until next time,

Read, Learn, Live