Dr. Richard Shore gave a one-man performance as John Muir on April 10 to emphasize the need to protect wilderness and the environment. John Muir was an outdoorsman of the truest sense; he lived in the land, not off it. Muir founded the Sierra Club, penned the proposal to designate Yosemite as a National Park, and was the strongest proponent for its protection. Shore dressed as Muir, spoke in a Scottish accent like Muir, and in the first person, communicated Muir's ethics of wilderness conservation.
"It is the wild creatures that make our water suitable for us to drink. It is the wild creatures that create the soil for our food to grow; thus it is essential that we protect these wild creatures."
Shore told of Muir's many exploits, such as walking 1,000 miles in 40 days, and riding down a mountain on the top of an avalanche just to see what it was like. Then, true to Muir's style, he used the water from a vase containing dirt and tree branches to quench his thirst. Actions like that throughout the performance made it seem as if John Muir actually was on stage, and that his messages about conservation were coming through a rift in time. He was a voice from the past, telling about the way it used to be, and chastising us for the mess that we have let our glorious lands become.
Regarding governmental protection of wilderness, Shore, as Muir, warned that "things that are created by one vote in Congress one day [Yosemite], can be uncreated by one vote another day."
Wilderness must be preserved as a place for preparation, testing, and healing, the same reasons that John Muir, John o' the Wilderness, went tramping around out there.
