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Show Our readers write. . . Dear Sam: This letter is in response to criticism aimed at the cartoon printed a couple of weeks ago. I had this letter ready for last week, but decided to wait for others to answer. One characteristic we all suffer from is myopia. We tend to see only our side of the picture. I would have Jeff Scott look at the cartoon again and be sure to observe the senior citizen just looking. A number of people asked why this old gent wasn't saying something. He represents a silent group who know the changing world is for younger people but at the same time would like to enjoy what they have fought for and won. I would also call attention to Mr. Salamacha's remark a-bout a-bout the cartoon being maudlin maud-lin and have him look again to find the same old gent who is silent. I was disappointed in Mr. Salamacha's statement calling our beautiful monuments monu-ments scenic anomalies, also comparing Angel Arch to a stunted cottonwood tree in a wash. I wonder if he had his myopia correction glasses on when he compared these natural na-tural wonders. I agree with E.J. Garrison s letter when he compared hidden meaning of signs posted post-ed on government property. "Keep out if you don't fall into a certain class." I would have Jeff Scott drive across some of the private property on the La Sal Mountains to come upon a road block with a sign saying "Private property keep out". True the private citizen settled those hard won acres with blood, sweat, and tears but it never the less shocks us to realize that perhaps the forest service or park service could do the same thing. I believe this threat of closing our western wilderness is what the controversy con-troversy is all about. That brings to mind the letter from our friend Edward Abbey. I read and appreciated the spirit with which he wrote "Desert Solitaire", and there's no one who enjoys the solitude soli-tude of the wilderness as much as I, but does the idea cover- the whole spectrum of human existence: Isn't it a little myopic to humans on the same existence level with rocks, trees, and lower animals. anim-als. Sure let's give animals their share of the wilderness, but if it means cutting humans short on food, land, or air or anything else for this generation genera-tion or the next, I think God would decide in our favor. I hope that in looking at the whole picture we begin to understand each other's position. posi-tion. Some of us were born out here. We consider this wild western country ours. We resent some of the city dwellers dwell-ers coming out here to squat and try to put a fence around our free country. Whether it is the avid environmentalists leaders who are writers or photographers who have found their pot at the base of our rainbow or just ordinary citizens escaping the smog in their home city we want a slice of the scenery available to all. I'm sure we need to protect some of it, but the way some squatters express it they would deprive us of resources we need for survival. surviv-al. Dwain C. Barker |