Now, More Than Ever, We Need Nature

The Real Cultural War Is Between The Culture Of Narcissism And What Might Be Called The Culture Of Renewal.

Nature-the Sublime, The Harsh, And The Beautiful-offers Something That The Street Or Gated Community Or Computer Game Cannot. Nature Presents The Young With Something So Much Greater Than They Are; It Offers An Environment Where They Can Easily Contemplate Infinity And Eternity.

We Attempt To Remember Our Collective American Childhood, The Way It Was, But What We Often Remember Is A Combination Of Real Past, Pieces Reshaped By Bitterness And Love, And, Of Course, The Video Past--the Portrayals Of Family Life On Such Television Programs As "leave It To Beaver" And "father Knows Best" And All The Rest.

What Happens When All The Parts Of Childhood Are Soldered Down, When The Young No Longer Have The Time Or Space To Play In Their Family's Garden, Cycle Home In The Dark With The Stars And Moon Illuminating Their Route, Walk Down Through The Woods To The River, Lie On Their Backs On Hot July Days In The Long Grass, Or Watch Cockleburs, Lit By Morning Sun, Like Bumblees Quivering On Harp Wires? What Then?

If War Occurs, That Positive Adult Contact In Every Shape Is Needed More Than Ever. It Will Be A Matter Of Emotional Life And Death. There's Not A Handy One-minute Way Of Talking To Your Kid About War.