The American Creed and its Environment

Could concern for the environment unify the United States?

By Kyle S. from Okemos High School in Michigan

The documentary The American Creed by PBS discusses how people work together regardless of who they are if there is a common goal. In this documentary, Joe Maddon claims that if you put kids on the same team then they’ll work together. The problem is, how are you supposed to get an entire nation to be on the same team. There was another woman interviewed in the PBS documentary, Joan Blades, she mentioned how it is important to realize what common beliefs you have with people who you don’t normally agree with. Like Joe Maddon said, when you give people a common goal they will work together.

One strong American value is also the preservation of our wildlife. Regardless of your political stance, odds are that you don’t wish harm unto the environment. In recent years I have seen many improvements for the betterment of the environment such as fuel efficient cars renewable energy or more efficient light bulbs. There are also many non-profit conservation organisations that you may not know of some of the largest are The Nature Conservancy or The World Wildlife Fund. 

“The Nature Conservancy joins forces with governments, non-profit organizations, local stakeholders, indigenous communities, corporate partners, and international organizations to find solutions to conservation challenges” (Klappenbach, Laura. "Info”). For more info click here                                                                                                                                                                                                                          “The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is a global-scale conservation organization that works in 100 countries and consists of nearly 5 million members worldwide. The WWF's mission—in the simplest of terms—is to conserve nature” (Klappenbach, Laura. "World”). For more info click here. 

“Home, after all, is the place where we make our living. It is the place for which we take responsibility, the place we try to sustain so we can pass on what is best in it (and in ourselves) to our children." William Cronon, Uncommon Ground “(Conservation Timeline). Nearly everyone interviewed in the PBS documentary American Creed felt proud that they were American. If people are proud to live in their then they should take care of it and take care of their country. People should take care of their country now before there isn’t anything left to be proud of.

Works Cited

“Conservation in The United States”. Wikipedia.org.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation

_in_the_United_States. Accessed 8 Nov, 2017

“Conservation Timeline 1901-2000”. The National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/mabi/

learn/historyculture/conservation-timeline-1901-2000.htm. Accessed 8 Nov, 2017.

Klappenbach, Laura. "Info About The Nature Conservancy." ThoughtCo, Oct. 26, 2017,

thoughtco.com/what-is-the-nature-conservancy-130862.

Klappenbach, Laura. "World Wildlife Fund." ThoughtCo, Jun. 6, 2015,

thoughtco.com/what-is-the-world-wildlife-fund-130868.

McNamara, Robert. "The Conservation Movement in America." ThoughtCo, May. 24,

2017, thoughtco.com/the-conservation-movement-in-america-1773765. Accessed

8 Nov, 2017

“History of The National Park Service” Wikipedia.org https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_

of_the_National_Park_Service. 21 Oct, 2017. Accessed 7 Nov, 2017

Strauss, Bob. "The Top 10 Wildlife Conservation Organizations." ThoughtCo, Oct. 16, 2017,

thoughtco.com/top-wildlife-conservation-organizations-4088567.

“The Evolution of The Conservation Movement”, 1850-1920”. Library of Congress. http://www.

loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/connections/conservation/history.html. Accessed 8

Nov, 2017.

Okemos High School

American Literature with Mrs. Reed

Students in American Literature in Mrs. Reed's courses

More responses from Michigan

Surprise Me

More responses about "creed"

Surprise Me

Writing Our Future: American Creed is part of the National Writing Project’s family of youth publishing projects, all gathered under the Writing Our Future initiative.

Writing Our Future projects are designed by educators for educators and the young people they work with. Intended for use in schools, libraries, and other educational settings. All projects are COPPA compliant and educator-managed. NWP is committed to supporting young people’s writing and civic participation by providing a safe and supportive environment for youth writing, media creation, sharing, and publishing.