Kath and others who think I am recommending that the Park Service or some government agency do something to address diversity: I’m not suggesting any NPS or government program. Nothing I wrote had anything to do with any government program. I would like to see people of all colors, including the color white, not buying into myths and stereotypes perpetrated by Marlboro, Hollywood, and etc. I would like to see us all get wet, get cold, and get along. That seems like it would be of no disadvantage to anybody and just maybe an advantage to all.

I would like people of the color white, when they look out onto a sea of white faces – be it a day hike on a portion of the Appalachian Trail, or a Blue Grass concert in Telluride – to recognize that what they’re seeing isn’t ‘market determination’, and to simply be curious.

I would like to see people of color get outdoors and take advantage of a unique advantage of being an American by enjoying the many wild and scenic public lands that are their birthright as well. I would like them to not say to me, “We don’t do that.” Because we do. For example, buried next to Admiral Peary in Arlington National Cemetery is Mathew Henson, the black man who actually led Peary to the North Pole.

Contrary to what is sometimes put out there, there are no quotas. They’re illegal. There are no official double standards of abilities, except that often for a person of color to make the same achievements as a white person, he or she has to rise even further above the crowd. Contrary to what is sometimes put out there, white people are seldom actually ‘diversified out of a job’ by a person of lesser abilities. But it’s a great excuse. And if skin color occasionally does give a person an advantage, um…you get the point. An NPS associate regional director for the Intermountain region recently wrote, in response to negative feedback and complaints on the supposed lowering of standards to hire more diversity:

I cannot find a single directive, regulation,
order, or practice that has mandated a reduction in qualifications in
order to obtain a more diverse workforce. This is an example of
individual racism turned into institutional racism.

When I say I don’t want to see the NPS do something through a program, I’m perhaps not being entirely honest. I was with the Park Service long enough to hear a great deal of officialdom about diversity, and long enough to see it come to nothing. If an agency is going to make so much noise, perhaps it should actually walk the walk. The Park Service has ranger training academies set up at about 10 mostly white community colleges. What if just ONE were set up at a mostly black or native school? And guess what? Several years ago this was suggested. The schools are overseen by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia – where all permanent rangers receive their training alongside the FBI, Secret Service, and ATF. FLETC objected. Ten academies in mostly white schools, but one at a mostly black or native school was ‘problematic’. So I don’t know what the NPS answer is. I’d like to see hiring managers held accountable for walking the Park Service’s talk. I know from direct experience, that if they can sincerely regurgitate the Park Service message of support of diversity, that they really don’t need to actually DO anything. No accountability what-so-ever. However, I was just making an observation and asking a question. Einstein said it was more important to ask the questions than to have the answers, and the Buddhist faith emphasizes curiosity. I’m not Einstein and I’m not Buddhist, but I’m only asking of you – not the government – to be curious, and ask questions. That’s it. I’m asking people of color to ignore the myths. That’s it.

But my essay wasn’t really about the Park Service, or even being outdoors. It was really about why we choose to limit our own selves by buying into revisionist history and stereotypes. And more importantly, why, after 600 years of being together, we choose to be so separate from each other while maintaining so much suspicion, animosity, and ignorance of the other. The outdoors, where we all get tired, wet, cold, and hungry – regardless of race - would be a great classroom and a great place for us all to ‘just get over it.’ We wouldn’t even need funiculars.