A Clash of Myths

“Nation of immigrants” iconography overwhelms wilderness
as defining American identity

FROM THE PEN OF JOHN MUIR . . . “Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, inciting at once to work and rest! Days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God. Nevermore, however weary, should one faint by the way who gains the blessings of one mountain day; whatever his fate, long life, short life, stormy or calm, he is rich forever.” “No synonym for God is so perfect as Beauty. Whether as seen carving the lines of the mountains with glaciers, or gathering matter into stars, or planning the movements of water, or gardening — still all is Beauty!”

The immigrant has grown to be an omnipresent icon in current American culture. This is certainly due in part to how many immigrants there are these days — now at their highest percentage of the population since the beginning of the twentieth century. They insist that they are vital to our survival, that America cannot function economically without millions of low-wage immigrants. Even as more Americans are displaced by foreign workers, we are assured that it is all good, that these newcomers are just like great-great granddad, who also crossed the Atlantic and viewed the Statue of Liberty with the same misty eyes. Never mind that most current immigrants enter from the West Coast or across the Rio Grande and have never been in New York Harbor. The immigrant myth continues — it must be a myth since it has nothing to do with any rational national policy. And while the economic benefits are clear for employers who have become addicted to cheap, exploitable labor, it is also true that the immigrant myth still has currency for many Americans. It may well be that this is an ignoble sentiment for some, arising out of liberal guilt. Still, Americans may be reassured by Horatio Alger stories of hard work leading to success, as evidenced by immigrants who do indeed find the American Dream — when it is defined as economic gain. DESTROYING AMERICA'S SPIRITUAL HERITAGE One might think that immigration is the only myth this nation has ever had. On the contrary, today's commercial culture has nearly obliterated the importance of the wilderness experience to the formation of the American identity. As art critic Robert Hughes stated, “In the eyes of 19th century Americans, the New World — their world — has not ruins or monuments. Nature, not culture, was what made Americans American.” Europeans of earlier centuries were inspired by the seemingly endless wilderness of the New World in contrast to the domesticated landscape of the Old. The vast open space and the richness of wildlife widened their horizons psychologically, particularly in terms of optimism. The art and culture of 19th century America were profoundly influenced by nature. Scottish immigrant John Muir rhapsodized at length about the beauty and the spiritual experience he felt in the Sierra. “In God's wildness lies the hope of the world — the great fresh unblighted, unredeemed wilderness. The galling harness of civilization drops off, and wounds heal ere we are aware.” Muir was devastated in his old age by the construction of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir — in an area comparable to Yosemite for natural beauty — to serve the water requirements of a growing San Francisco population. The period called the American Renaissance consisted largely of Transcendentalist ideas which permeated most of the 19th century. Thoreau took his famous two-year retreat at Walden Pond “to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life.” By becoming more attuned to nature, he reached toward a higher truth. Like other Trancendentalists, Thoreau looked outward to the natural world to reflect inward. The word “inspiration” means to inhale, after all. DEATH BY DEVELOPMENT Now one historical icon is effectively paving over another. The crass obsession with economic growth over everything else has encouraged the destruction of America's spiritual heritage for the economic gain of a few. The “nation of immigrants” myth is effective cover for the modern robber barons who profit enormously by destroying the country. It's bad enough that our national ideals are so misused, but we are also supposed to believe it is good for us. Worse, the loss of wild and open America means a deprived spiritual future, while growth increases in every other way. There will always be plenty of immigrants, but once a special place or a species is destroyed, it is gone forever. The spiritually impoverished generations yet unborn will think that Manhattan-level human densities are normal, just as today's young people regard gridlock as the proper function of highways. No one would suggest tearing down Notre Dame cathedral to build housing units, yet that is exactly what is being done. Our nation's most precious spiritual heritage is being destroyed by the notion that endless population growth can continue here forever. — by Brenda Walker     FURTHER READING: Wilderness Letter The late Wallace Stegner's famous praise of wilderness as a value all by itself.