This ones for all the Floridians, and its looking pretty solid ... Sourced another story for some rhetorical persuasion :) Oh yeah, sorry if its long, but definitely worth the read “You have now entered the Florida Everglades exhibit,” read the stark green and blue sign above, “press A7 on your audio tape for more information y B7 para habla español.” I hit the former and patiently sat in front of a roped-off wooden canoe and wax native-american figurine. The voice of an eager, elderly woman blared through the headphones, “Welcome to the Florida Everglades, our state’s most prized possession.” Before me lay a long black corridor with red carpeting accentuated by children earnestly tugging at their parent’s skirts and trousers, and hulking emerald fishtanks embedded in concrete. After a brief pause the tape continued, “Florida’s native swamplands were first inhabited by the Miccosukee Indian Tribe, and thoroughly explored by their multi-person canoes.” The intimidating, inanimate man was turned towards his vessel holding an iron spear at half hilt. It’s tip nearly reached the ceiling of the faux-palm frond hut machined to the floor. His stoic expression was one of bitterness and longing. If only he could sit within the hull which was once his, and recede into the hammock and cyprus mural plastered along the wall behind him. “This chieftain and his tribe were once the protectors of a vast kingdom spanning the peninsula. Now the Everglades protect us, serving as a physical buffer between natural disasters such as hurricanes and the developed urban landscape. They are a natural filter for our water as well, it flows through the miles of spongy and porous terrain to eventually reach canals and maybe even the faucet of your house. Florida’s Everglades are important to us for these reasons, however with the increase of state industry and construction of structural foundations; this natural ecosystem is becoming increasingly smaller and less ineffective in its duty. Proceed forwards to hear more of this audio recording.” Upholding the Everglade’s importance by detailing its utilitarian uses, and urging civic action through catchphrases like duty, protect, and prized possession is all bullshit. It represents societies’ infatuation with rationalizing the irrational, making the intangible — tangible. Exhibits like these take cherished memories of nature like mine and whittle them down into didactic lessons. To later be yelled at a black box, by a school teacher turned book-club geriatric, as she shakily sips her camomile after a Wednesday afternoon rebroadcast of “Supermarket Sweep”. Exhibits like these usher the wilderness into labs or textbooks, rather than celebrating them, letting them them merely exist or run their course the way they were intended to.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 02:05:18 +0000
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