The Dust Bowl Of The 1930s By Scott Russell Sanders

While analyzing the nature of American stimulus, Scott Russell Sanders proclaimed, “But who would pretend that a history of migration has immunized the United States against bigotry?” (Sanders 40). Sanders was a firm believer that America had transformed into a state of take-and-abandon. He made several observations and analogies that highlighted the privation of conservatism. Sanders saw that when people fished a stream, they did not fish it with concern for population of the fish, they fished it until not a fish was left, before moving on to the next stream; when a farmer utilized a field, rather than caring for the field, when the soil quality dropped, the farmer would find somewhere new to settle. Both of the prior are illustrations of

One of his arguments parallels the pursuit for capital gain with insouciance to the toll imposed upon the land: “The Dust Bowl of the 1930s was caused not by drought but by the transfer onto the Great Plains of farming methods that were suitable to wetter regions” (Sanders 56). Here, Sanders highlights a great cost of a recklessness most don’t even consider. He shows that often times, people don’t realize how much they’re hurting the land. By bringing up the great Dust Bowl, Sanders reminds his audience of the emotional distraught, the terror, and the destruction wrought by the cost of constantly moving for personal gain. Through this quote, he leaves the thought of plausible disaster that follows their selfish desires. In another claim, Sanders strives for his audience to inquire against their own ideals: “...even though our sprawling system of interstate highways is crumbling, the president has decided that we should triple it in size, and all without raising our taxes a nickel. Only a populace drunk on driving…could hear such a proposal without hooting” (Sanders 20). Through this quote, Sanders attempts to reason with his audience’s morals. Although the audience may have not realized it initially, Sanders points out: why do they need to expand upon an already massive highway system, when most of it is already

Sanders argues, “Lord knows we could do with less nationalism (to say nothing of its ugly siblings, racism, religious sectarianism, or class snobbery)” (Sanders 37). Here, Sanders makes claims about nationalism that likely contradicted what Americans may have thought at the time. People of the time pursued the idea of the American Dream: a nationwide concept that one should do whatever it takes to pursue happiness and success. However, what the populace was blind to were the sins orbiting the concept. Sanders makes the point that by pursuing this level of nationalism, one is treading down a dark path of racism and greed. Sanders goes on to say, “But who would pretend that a history of migration has immunized the United States against bigotry? And even if, by uprooting ourselves, we shed our chauvinism, is that all we lose?” (Sanders 40). Through this quote, Sanders proclaims how Americans abuse their multicultural descent to justify acts of racism and deceit. Once again, he illustrates a scenario where Americans mindlessly take until they must leave: the corruption of their own patriotism. Sanders shows that in reconciliation to the tarnishing of American nationalism, Americans merely broadened their horizons and moved to new places to forget their sins, just like the scenarios with the fish and the fields, and the great Dust Bowl, rather than being conservative and