Lost Mountain Part 3

Part A
A rational mind is one that is concerned with things that are of the human race. Benefits to their own self and worth. A rational mind focuses on power and money but doesn’t consider the outcome or consequence of things. If a rational mind can gain power or money or both, it will not let anything get in its way. A sympathetic mind understands that things need to be considered and thought through and that money and power should not be the center focus of things.

Reece shows his sympathetic mind by talking about the damage of strip mining and its failures. He uses Wangari Maathai as an example of his sympathetic mind. She won the Noble Peace Prize for planting trees. He explains that the benefits that came from her work were substantial and that Americans should really consider reclaiming land the right way and that strip mining should be cut back.

Another example that he expresses his sympathetic mind is his sharing the stories that he found about coal truck drivers and the hazards they cause on roads in Kentucky. He tells us stories of people who had died from coal truck drivers driving to fast and abusing drugs. His concern for the lives of others because of strip coal mining drivers shows his sympathetic mind.
Another example of this thought is when he talks about visiting the mountain a year ago and the destruction that took place in only a year. He described the spot that was once full of trees and wildlife was now a desolate land, and showing no signs of life or excitement. His concern for the mountain and its existence shows his sympathetic mind. His belief that mountains are important for the future of human existence is most certainly not a rational mind of thought.

Part B
I think one of the most important quotes he has in the conclusion is the one on page 227 of Lost Mountain. The middle paragraph that states:

Science without compassion, science without ethics, has given
us the modern war machince, the industrial farm, the dead
zone in the Gulf of Mexico, the strip mine. What this science
has left out is everything the mad farmer stands for
(talking about a poem written by a farmer of Kentucky)…….
Practice resurrection..…… Among them: practice and emulate
the seasonal resurrection of the forest, understand and enact the
miraculousness of this world, practice waking up to a world
that is itself a miracle, plant a tree.

This statement completes the thoughts of a lot of his arguments. He is letting everyone know that because of our destruction and distraction from detail we have created a terrible situation. He lets us know that we need to not only address the situation of coal mining with words and speech but to actually do something about it. He gives us the example of plant a tree. He tells us that everyone needs to realize the worth and beauty of the world and its mountains and to practice resurrection by fighting for the cutting down of strip mining. We need to think long term and for the future of wildlife and that will in turn keep the human race alive much longer.