Selfish or Selfless

In this past reading Schneider includes comments from Kirschenbaum, an architectural preservationist, about the development and value of the Adirondack camps. He introduces a nostalgic view of the Adirondack history and tradition embodied by these structures as well as the concept of continuity. The Lichfield castle exemplified his point perfectly in terms of a fierce attachment to what you grew up with. They invest so many resources into preserving things "the way they remember them..." (280). Even the green water bottle sitting on my desk from the Lichfield Estate reads "Avoiding progress for more than 120 years." I find these concepts of continuity and nostalgia to be a bit contradictory. There can be value in these concepts/feelings as they provide a means for strengthening social bonds but in the case of the Adirondacks they seem to cloud logic and warp motivation. Most if not all humans reminisce and often feel the need to preserve things as they once were and it seems that the families, who own camps, writing letters about the preservation of the park and resisting of development are being more selfish than selfless. At one point or another any group of settlers whether it be the fur traders or vacationers had an impact and changed the face of the park. Obviously trying to avoid further development is not a terrible idea but many who argue for the cause are guilty of perpetuating the same development they are condemning. In this sense breaking the cycle of development in favor of preservation is very difficult if not impossible. I am still grappling with the value of the Adirondack camps in terms of heritage and hope to discuss this and possibly the symbol of Poetry in Motion in class.