In her piece about Chuck Cushman, Margaret Knox describes the talented public speaker and advocate of private land ownership. Her aim in writing this piece was to explain why Cushman is so good at what he does. She explains that he came from humble beginnings in Los Angeles and was incensed when the government tried to tell him what to do with the land he owned in Yosemite National Park.
I agree with Knox in that people are willing to listen to others that they believe share a common context with them. Other land owners that believe the government should have no effect on them would be likely to follow Cushman. However, I don't believe that all of the people that love their land would agree with his broad statements about all land owners. For example, over-logging and over-hunting are harmful to the environment regardless of how you frame it. I was also a little skeptical of his insinuation that every person that own land intends to preserve it in some fashion without government interference-- I was horrified when Knox stated that he is actively against wetlands conservation because I come from that terrain and I've seen how people abuse it. I did, however, like his statement that there is a difference between a conservationist and an environmentalist.
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