A new symbol, An Old Way of Life

I was watching the National Parks Series by Ken Burns tonight. Two great men, John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt, who had much to do with the preserving of our great monuments and national landmarks of today. I think what I loved about Teddy Roosevelt is that he was a political man, with refinement, class, and persuasion to the general public, but when he had the chance, he left it all to go out into the wilderness, or even after his presidency down the dangerous Amazon.

He is not a perfect man. But he went from a dandified city boy in the high society of New York to the badlands of South Dakota. He was in some ways, in search of himself, and his home. Was it in the city? In the wide open fields of the west? Or was it somewhere in between?

We are missing men like that today. It seems there are city boys, and metrosexual styles that speak to only one side of a man. As some might say, the feminine side. I don't discount it. I think we need it. But what about the other side? I think we have bought into too much of the marketers of the east coast. We need in some ways a symbol to bring us back. Back to our roots. To our heritage. And to the men who knew how to wake up in the morning, and go farm their land, like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, and later that day sign a bill in the halls of Congress. Balanced men. Yeah, where did all that go?

I think that is my hope. Somehow in a clothing line we might wake up a group of people to re-think and explore their symbol, and in that, themselves.