Park ‘ceremony’ shows the plan of action

I can’t say that I was shocked to learn that Ray McPadden, the superintendent at Yosemite National Park, was “sworn in” during a private ceremony.

That he was “sworn in” was something new, according to past park superintendents. That it was done in private was not a surprise at all; since his arrival, McPadden has operated with a cloak of secrecy.

Consider this: The ceremony was held in a building owned by American taxpayers, some of those in attendance came to Yosemite on the dime of the people, others work at Yosemite paid for by the people, the PG&E bill certainly isn’t paid by McPadden and the list goes on and on.

In other words, it was a “private” ceremony held at the expense of us hard-working sloths who fund the place.

There is so much wrong with this it is nearly incomprehensible.

But, again, not a surprise.

Don’t get me wrong, administrations past and present have kept the public out of certain decisions and even vital information they just didn’t think the public was worthy of telling.

But this current administration seems to take the cake when it comes to secrecy and simply ignoring the people of America .

When I first moved here, of course Yosemite was a top priority. I had never even been to California, let alone one of the premiere parks in the world. As expected, it was a wonderful and awe-inspiring place to visit. It still is.

Someone I met early on told me something that sticks with me to this day: “Yosemite belongs to the American people.”

That, too, remains a fact.

But it doesn’t seem to be front and center in the minds of people in the current regime at Yosemite. Nope, they would rather conduct “special” ceremonies to crown a superintendent, all the while not inviting those who foot the bill.

We are not a monarchy. We are a republic. We don’t “crown” people to run our national parks. We put them in charge and ask them to be the keepers of sacred land and property to make sure it is preserved for the next generation.

Well, at least that’s the way it is supposed to work.

I remember years ago when I lived in the small town of Powell, Wyo. It was the first time I had lived so close to a national park, in this case Yellowstone with Grand Teton just down the road.

After moving there, one of the things I wanted to do was get interviews with the superintendents of both of those parks. It seemed to me that sometimes, the local folks get left out when it comes to who is in charge of such high-profile parks. I thought they would be interested in just how the parks worked coming from the leaders.

Both of the superintendents welcomed me without hesitation and gave me in-depth interviews that I shared with our readers. They were great interviews, in my estimation, and put a local twist on what many considered national stories.

I did interview McPadden not long after he arrived — but the circumstances were much different.

When the Yosemite Gateway Partners group decided to conduct a “meet and greet” with McPadden, we sent a reporter. Our reporter was subsequently told the news media was not welcome.

I’m still not sure why that was the case though recent actions seem to indicate keeping the public in the dark has been the plan all along.

After I threw a fit, McPadden did agree to do an interview. It went well, I asked hard questions and it seemed he was pleased with the story.

Imagine that.

So what has changed?

I’m not sure anything has changed. I am convinced keeping the public in the dark is the ongoing plan by the national administration and it trickles down on orders from the great and powerful Department of the Interior.

All you have to do is a little research to figure out the Department of the Interior would rather do all of its business away from the people who fund it. They do a pretty good job of it, by the way.

And then, boom, they announce this oil lease or that contract to basically bribe companies not to build wind power facilities.

Heck of a way to operate if you ask me.

What is it about these people who think it is their money they are spending?

Arrogance and the fact they think not only are they above the law, they are above everyone else when it comes to smarts. Their way is the only way in their minds and let the rest of us eat cake.

I have little doubt this is going to continue for the next several years. They just don’t care and when they try to say they are looking out for the best interests of the public and the visitors, don’t buy what they are selling.

They are looking out for what’s best for the bosses. The power hungry swamp monsters in Washington who seek to enrich themselves and to turn everything, including our national parks, into their vision.

Since when is it okay to try to hide the fact there was slavery in this country? And why is it so important that only “good” history is told.

The American experiment is ripe with a dark side. Slavery. Women’s non-rights. Japanese internment. Nuclear testing that harmed citizens. Dark moments in foreign lands.

The list is endless and it should not be hidden; rather, it should be highlighted so we can learn lessons from the past and never go down those slippery slopes again.

That is what history is all about. It is not about smoke and mirrors and trying to present rainbows and unicorns when dark clouds and pitchforks better symbolize the past.

Yet here we are. The superintendent of one of the premiere national parks in the world hiding behind closed doors to be crowed for a job he has been doing for quite some time. And a bigwig from D.C. flies in to oversee it on our dime.

I have always thought that as a country, we would continually move forward. That we would learn from the past to make a better future.

I was wrong.

Instead, we are going back in time and this fairly irrelevant “ceremony” in our backyard is just the latest example of what is happening. In the big picture, the “crowning” of a superintendent means little.

But in the overall scheme of things, it just goes to show what we are up against.

And it isn’t pretty.