The National Parks by Ken Burns

Recently released, The National Parks - America's Best Idea, a new film by Ken Burns, looks to do for our millions of acres of protected wild lands what Burns did for the Civil War, baseball and jazz - provide them with a stirring, informative biopic that will stand as a template for all future discussions of such historical phenomenon. The first installment, Scripture of Nature (1851 - 1890), appeared a couple nights ago on television, but it, and all the episodes, are available at PBS.org.

While Burns definitely has his detractors and quibblers, there's no denying that he has created a grand vision woven together with an inspiring narrative thread - that our national parks are not only central to our nation's health and wealth, but that they also emerged from and continue to feed our democratic ideals. Very few things in America are truly "for everyone," but those who founded our parks system saw them as such, and they continue so to this day. Big government? Yes. Therefore bad? No. Only the government could have taken the lead in keeping these lands from developers, and as such it proved its value in our lives. Whether or not that means it has value in other aspects of our lives is irrelevant. The national parks was a bureaucratic home run, and Burns proves it.

The photography in this series would be enough to warrant it a masterpiece, but what really crowns its greatness is Burns's research into the officials, intellectuals, and outdoors enthusiasts whose passion for nature led them to battle to save it. You can feel their love for the land, and in seeing it so movingly represented, you really start to feel that yes, indeed, the national parks are our best idea, if only for the way in which they symbolize our many other great ideas.

Photo via PBS.org.