Robert Bogle #1 Gary Snyder and “Good Land”

Gary Snyder- POTW
“Our idea of Good Land comes from agriculture.”(84)
This is how most people in the world think today. They think that the soil quality is what bestows worth to the land, but in most preagricultural societies (hunter gatherers) there was a sense that the wild natural beauty of the world is something to hold sacred. These were things that existed, and were not created or manipulated by man. We have forgotten what “good land” is really made of, due to our distance from nature and the wild. What we see as good land is a piece of earth that can best suit our selfish needs as agricultural societies. The reason for this separation between man and earth as a sacred place may be due to the agricultural revolution. The agricultural revolution created many things that we have come to take advantage of today. Free time was a paramount creation, because it led to arts, trades, and recreation. Over the years we began to devalue everything because we don’t have to make everything that we used to need. Now, we can just go to a store and buy almost anything that we could want. I believe that we need to undergo some sort of revolution or disaster to truly appreciate our world. Once we gain a greater appreciation, I believe that rediscovering sacred places and understanding what good land was to preagricultural societies will be apparent for all to see. It can be possible for there to be a place that is good while remaining sacred.