The Politics of Beauty

November 6, 2023

I don’t usually think of the words beauty and politics in the same sentence. So in these self centered and polarized times, it was gratifying to be reminded yesterday that there are people who have used their skills of persuasion and negotiation in the service of something greater than themselves: the natural world and the common good.

Yesterday I was fortunate to attend a screening of a recent documentary about one such public servant. “Stewart Udall: The Politics of Beauty” is the story of the man who helped protect the Grand Canyon from hydroelectric dams, the man who helped create Point Reyes National Seashore, Redwood National Park, and Canyonlands National Park, among others, and the man who helped establish the Wilderness Act and the Endangered Species Act. And those achievements are just a fraction of the contributions that Udall made to America the beautiful.

I remember Stewart Udall as the Secretary of the Interior for presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson in the 1960’s. But I had forgotten that he was one of the towering figures of the American environmental movement, joining heroes such as John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt, Rachel Carson, and David Brower.

And I did not know that he was an early advocate for treating black Americans and American Indians with respect. Nor did I know that he left the Mormon Church over its refusal to allow blacks in its priesthood.

Another thing I learned from the film is that “Udall called on all Americans to move away from our emphasis on economic growth and consumerism and toward quality of life, and a new politics centered on beauty, frugal living, appreciation of nature and the arts, and a recognition of Earth’s limits.”

Wow. How is it that I, and we, could have forgotten this wise defender of human dignity and planet Earth?

Yet in spite of his successful bipartisan work with people of both political parties to protect and preserve our natural environment, I’m no longer convinced that politics can bring about the shift in values and priorities that Udall advocated. Politics might be a way to implement Udall’s idealism, but politicians are usually followers, not leaders, of public opinion. Change has to start from the grass roots, from an alteration in human consciousness regarding what is important to people in their everyday lives. And for most people at this time, jobs and financial security are what they are most concerned about, not beauty, frugal living, appreciation of nature and the arts.

Climate change may alter our perception of our options and preferred outcomes. In the coming years we may be forced to simplify our lives and recognize Earth’s limits.

Damn – we may be compelled to have a love affair with the wonder and beauty of the Earth.

But however we get there – willingly, or kicking and screaming – we will have pioneers of Earth consciousness such as Stewart Udall to thank for pointing us in the right direction.