The Edmund Pettus Bridge - which in 2013 was declared a National Historic Landmark - isn't symbolic of the Civil War in a meaningful way. It is, however, the modern-day battlefield where the voting rights movement was born.
Douglas BrinkleyRead
It's very important that we keep these special, wild places. It defines the United States. Imagine our country without our national parks and our monuments. Here in California, imagine if you didn't have in Southern Cal the Channel Islands or the great Highway 1, Big Sur up to Point Reyes up to the Redwood country.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Protecting natural places is crucial for the identity of a country.
This quote emphasizes the importance of preserving wild and natural spaces, such as national parks and monuments, to define a nation's identity. It highlights the unique beauty and cultural heritage of specific regions, particularly in California, and suggests that these landscapes are integral to the American experience and pride.
Themes
NaturePreservationNational ParksIdentityBeauty
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about environmental conservation.
More from Douglas Brinkley
All quotes βIt's Nixon who created the Environmental Protection Agency. Clean Air and Water Acts. Endangered Species Act. Promoted affirmative action. One could go on and on with Nixon as a New Deal liberal on domestic policy and a hawk, but one with great geo-political skills.
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While the old spiritual 'Slavery Chain Done Broke at Last' was sung by blacks in the hours following the Appomattox surrender, racism sadly continues to be a crippling national scourge.
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One thing 'not right' on the 50th anniversary of the Selma marches is the sad fact that the Edmund Pettus Bridge hasn't been renamed the John Lewis Bridge.
Douglas BrinkleyRead
When we settled our country, the dark forest was considered in some ways evil and something that you needed to plow or, later, bulldoze. We now have a new understanding of the interconnectedness of ecosystems and the need for bird flyways and why all species matter.
Douglas BrinkleyRead
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A pool is water, made available and useful, and is, as such, infinitely soothing to the western eye.
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When I first ventured into the Gulf of Mexico in the 1950s, the sea appeared to be a blue infinity too large, too wild to be harmed by anything that people could do.
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Zoo animals are ambassadors for their cousins in the wild.
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Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God.
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