But Kemmis believes it is and he told them not to wait for someone else to protect the land they love. He doesn't want to turn public lands over to the states, but he wants to turn over responsibility for management to states and local communities. While his talk was unsettling to many environmentalists who have seen their interests ignored or attacked by state and local governments in the past, his ideas also challenge the mentality of many on the right. He challenges the view of many in our society who see themselves as taxpayers, not citizens. What taxpayers do not do, and what people who call themselves taxpayers long since stopped even imaging themselves doing, is governing.
Taxpayers treat government like a utility, like the phone company.
What Kemmis tells us is that we, too, share a responsibility for keeping the lines of communication open and operating. We have to do the common good ourselves, not turn to others to do it for us. If we have the courage to trust one another and to alter the system so that trust is rewarded, the West can, in the words of author Wallace Stegner, create a society to match its scenery.