Johnson and Zahniser: The Natural Laws.

     When I was reading over my American Earth text for my Rhetoric class, I was reading two legislative texts that dealt with the environment and nature. One piece of legislation deals with the protection of the wilderness, and the other piece of legislation focuses on improving the cleanliness of the highways. The two men who had proposed these legislative acts about the environment were Howard Zahniser, and for some reason, Lindon B. Johnson. The thirty-sixth President of the United States.

     The environmental writings that I had previously read in the American Earth text have been written by mostly writers and nature writers. Of course, there was one exception before when I read a speech given by President Theodore Roosevelt at the Grand Canyon. Either way, I was surprised to find that  President Johnson spoke on an environmentally relevant topic such as he did. But before I go to Johnson, I will speak first about Howard Zahniser. He was a politician around the time of World War II. Some time around the end of the war in 1945, Zahniser was appointed as the executive secretary of The Wilderness Society. Howard Zahniser was a man who was determined to protect the wilderness. To fulfill the goals of his new position, he proposed a bill that would be The Wilderness Act of 1964. Sadly, Zahniser passed away before the Wilderness Bill was finished. Yet he still managed to write poetic and touching words to describe the wilderness that he fought so hard and long to try and conserve. After reading The Wilderness Act by Zahniser, I can say that I admire him for his appreciation for woods. It's the kind of appreciation that all of us could have for the wilderness in our areas.

     Howard Zahniser said in the text, " A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and it's community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain" ( 393).  I must agree with the man that there are parts of the wilderness that must remain safe and reserved from civilization, if it's beauty will be there for the next generation to appreciate.

     The next politician I will discuss will be President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ). I did not know so much about Johnson other than he took over the Presidency right after his predecessor John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Johnson was also President during one of the most difficult times of the Vietnam War both foreign and domestically. What I also found out about President Johnson when reading American Earth was that he proposed a bill that would be removing some unnecessary billboards and trash along the American highways. Ironically, the plan for The Highway Beautification Act of 1965 was by Lady Bill Johnson, President Johnson's wife. It seems that The President proposed the Highway Bill on her behalf. The one memorable quote that I remember from reading 'Remarks at the Signing of the Highway Beautification Act of 1965' was when Johnson said, "This bill does not represent everything that we wanted. It does not represent what we need. It does not represent what the national interest requires. But it is a first step, and there will be others" ( 397). This message seems so simple and moving to me. The message can also mean anything to anyone. It brings up some difficulty, yet offers hope.