America The Beautiful

Glacier National Park, Montana.

America is a huge country. When I go back to Iowa to visit family, I travel the distance from Kyiv to Paris. Still that is less than halfway to the West coast. Between the rocky coasts of New England and the sun baked California deserts lies every type of biome in the world and almost every climate classification. On this 249th Independence Day we should reflect not only on the founding ideals of a nation but on the land itself. On the beautiful, tangible place we call home. It is in this shared inheritance that we find our true identity as Americans. Which goes beyond the normal cultural and political divisions. That of patriotic stewards charged with preserving its breathtaking and diverse natural beauty.

For purple mountain majesties of our towering ranges and stillness of our forests. When you picture American mountains chances are you see the Rockies. In their snow capped majesty rising above the high plains. From the dramatic red rock of Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, to the blue peaks of Glacier National Park that go on into Canada. Much better than overrated Yellowstone now overrun with tourists because of some awful cowboy soap opera. But the granite domes of Yosemite in the Sierra Nevada see almost as many visitors each year and still feel special. The Appalachians are less flashy, being older than bones, and worn down with time. They are well traveled too once part of the same range as the Scottish Highlands and the Atlas mountains of North Africa before the continents drifted apart. They stretch up here into New England. Where the forests feel different. Having been almost clear cut at one point, only to grow back more dense than ever. Nothing like the green cathedrals of Washington and Oregon. With trees so tall you cannot see the tops of them.

For fruited plains and inland waterways. You might not realize that the average American farm feeds 169 people a year. But if you saw the black earth of my native Iowa you would understand why. Millions of years of topsoil formation across the great plains, fed by the Mississippi and its tributaries. Everyone talks about our tax dollars going to foreign aid. But no one wants to talk about us depleting our soil by overproducing industrial monocultures to feed the world. Those amber waves of grain shipped by road, rail, or on 12,000 miles of rivers and waterways. On the vast freshwater seas we call The Great Lakes. Which blend natural beauty and industrial might in a uniquely American fashion. More than 70% of America's land mass is rural areas, with most of that being west of the Mississippi, including the 47% of the land in the west that the federal government owns. Yet almost 65% of the nation's rural population lives east of the Mississippi.

Each day in America the sun first rises on Cadillac Mountain and it last sets over Attu Island which can be as long as 24 hours apart. 40% of Americans live in coastal states. There is almost 100,000 miles of coastline with more than 6,000 beaches. I live about two hours to the nearest one. Hampton Beach. Not to be confused with The Hamptons. I live in Cheshire County which is a mostly rural county in southwest New Hampshire. There are many mountains here in the county. But I am less than an hour from Green Mountains National Forest in Vermont. And less than three from White Mountains National Forest up north of here. I am two hours from Lake Winnipesaukee which is the largest lake in the state. I live in an area surrounded by the natural beauty of America. There are dozens of regions like this around the country that demand our vigilant protection.

America is not an idea. It is a place and the people devoted to it. Love of country should not only be rearward looking but needs to be forward thinking about how best to make it last. We must ensure that majestic mountains and forests, our soulful heartland, and dramatic coasts and desserts are not sold off to become endless sprawling mixed use developments. This 4th of July I am asking you to commit to a patriotism of place. To stand for what you stand on. By taking personal responsibility for where you live and what you love, engaging in active conservation and mindful recreation, and ensuring that America The Beautiful is more than a song.