[at-l] The Other MacKaye Vision

[texas12step at nym.hush.com (texas12step@nym.hush.com)]

Rafe Bustin wrote:
>Texas Twelve-Step wrote:

>>As the catalyst for what was to become the Appalachian
>>Trail, the essay rightly deserves historical recognition.
>>However, the main premises on which his pitch for it was
>>based are morally repugnant and shockingly naive.

>Whew.  What exactly is it that you find "morally
>repugnant", Tex?

I thought I'd made it plain in the preceding paragraph --
the one you chose not to include in your reply. Here it
is again:

>>Indeed. His Appalachian Trail essay is steeped in the
>>angst popular among trendy "intellectuals" of the day.
>>MacKaye thought he'd found in his vision of ridgeline
>>footpath cum labor camps a piece of the collectivist's
>>Holy Grail: A moral equivalent of war, and he is quite
>>open about the need to plan people's leisure (eyes narrow)
>>and "increase the efficiency of our spare time" (facial
>>tic) by harnessing this "undeveloped power" for the
>>health of society (reaches for revolver).

Get it? I find it repugnant that MacKaye in his essay has
the arrogance to play philosopher-king over how people's
*leisure* should be best spent to address an alleged 
"problem of living" -- that to his mind, not even one's 
idle time should be their own, but rather a tappable
resource on which *his* values can lay claim.

Or did you think he was merely speaking for the "giant 
standing high on the skyline."

And just what do *you* think MacKaye means when he 
refers to "some new deal" as a prerequisite to "that 
counter migration from city to country that has so 
long been prayed for"?

"Prayed for?" By *whom?*

There's a word for this sort of "planning," but I shan't
utter it because it'd only rile people up and I'd then 
have to spend a lot of time spelling it out with the 
Big Red Crayon, despite the fact that if someone like 
Dubya or the Hildebeast ever made such a proposal the 
word would be flying from people's mouths, sandwiched by
obscenities.

>                      That someone would actually
>take steps to address the basic issues of work
>and alienation in a capitalist setting?  Do you
>suppose these issues weren't and aren't real?

So it's the *thought* that counts. Okay, here's another
proposal that addresses a social problem. Should it too
be beyond moral criticism?:

http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html

(Yes, it's satire, but it makes the point without 
"Godwinizing" the thread with links to more serious 
proposals, if you know what I mean.)

>To me, certain things are self-evident. If MacKaye's
>vision was a delusion, the Trail would not have
>endured these eighty or so years.

I was judging MacKaye's original vision as outlined in
his 1921 essay, not the Appalachian Trail as realized by
the hard work of Avery and countless others. That should
also have been plain to readers.

TXIIS