Stomping Out Society - assignment 3/9

Gary Snyder’s, Smokey the Bear Sutra, has quite a different tone compared to the other excerpts in the book. His tone is very demanding and he does not leave room for anyone to argue against him. I did not care for this excerpt because I felt he was telling me what to believe and I could not relax and enjoy the reading. I especially did not like the line, “…the countless men oppressed by a civilization that claims to save but only destroys.” It seems like Snyder is implying that civilization is completely evil. I know that society has had some negative effects on nature, but I believe that in general society is a good thing. Snyder only comments on the bad things civilization has done and does not say anything about the good.