Colonialism Confusion

Richard White claims that “the attitudes of most Americans toward work indicate fundamental problems with how we conceive of the natural world and our place in it.” I agree. After only the short amount of time I have spent in this class so far, I am sure I have learned that humans do not exist separate from nature. In fact, author Richard White informs us that nature and the work we (humans) do in our lifetime are indeed connected. He states in his work Are You an Environmentalist Or Do You Work For a Living? that “we seek the purity of our absence, but everywhere we find our own fingerprints.” Americans often view nature as “untouched,” however colonialism proves this idea to be anything but true. Why is it that we (humans) are so unsure about how we do or do not connect to nature? Again, the answer is colonialism! Over time American history has been so “watered-down” and/or “white-washed,” resulting in Americans living in the present day having no clear perception or understanding of what nature truly is.