The Plowboy Interview
(Page 11 of 18)
PLOWBOY: It relates to everything else
we've been talking about-becau·t. as I understand
it, a large part of the whole bioregional concept is the
de,.sion to establish a sense of place and to then get
to know that place, rather than constantly moving
around and never becoming familiar with an area
SNYDER: If you don't have familiarity, you
can't learn anything
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PLOWBOY: Right.
SNYDER: [Laughter] You don't get little
messages or instructions from No. jays or flickers or
white-crowned sparrows if you don't stay still a little bit
That's really true.
Now let's address the opposition's position.
PLOWBOY: Go ahead.
SNYDER: When people hear this kind of rap.
the average college-educated, wellintentioned young urban
professional will say, quite honestly, "Oh, t !r,,, sounds
just great! But wouldn't it create a bunch of parochial
peasants, he might eventually become encrusted in their own
local consciousness to such h, a degree that we'd be back
with some old-style balkanization, with little tions
fighting little nations?" And I think that's a very fair
question.
In response to it, I'd say that part of what we have to see
ourselves as working toward is the balance of cosmopolitan
pluralism and deep local consciousness Local consciousness
without any cosmopolitanism would be a disaster:
of its own sort. But there's no reason, historically, to
think that we can't have e a degree of both. There are
plenty of examples of very diferent cultures, ';! . ing
adjacent to each other, that got along fairly decently.
What's needed, you see, is a shared spiritual
perspective that extends across bioregional and even
linguistic boundaries, to assure a fair level of
"peaceability." In the case of North America, say, there
was a shared respect that crossed the boundaries of the old
tribal territories, a shared perspective ::regard to the
natural world and in regard to the power of spirits, but
especially a respect for people of character, respect for
strength, honesty, generosity , ...and for personality.
Cabeza de Vaca spoke of that in his account of traveling
from Florida ;o New Mexico in the early sixteenth century.
Do you know that stop?
PLOWBOY: No, I don't.
SNYDER: He was a foot soldier on one of
the little Spanish expedition, :;;into the Caribbean that
shipwrecked in Florida. He was abandoned by- !I: captain in
Florida. He had a couple of other people with him
initially. I remember l that there was a black man with
him, Estevanico.
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