The
National Park Service is selling its soul.
By
While Americans celebrate the 100th anniversary of our National
Park Service, America’s so-called “leaders” are aggressively converting these
jewels of the common good into just another corporate cash cow.
This commercialization started with “co-branding” agreements,rationalized by
NPS officials as “aligning the economic and historical legacies” of parks with
advertisers. In other words, they’re selling the Park Service’s proud public
brand…as well as its soul.
First in line was Coca-Cola. A few years back, the
multibillion-dollar colossus became a “Proud Partner” of our national parks by making
a mere $2.5 million tax-deductible donation to support their stewardship.
In return, Coke got exclusive rights to use park logos in its
ads — and it was allowed to veto the park service’s plan to ban sales of
bottled water in the Grand Canyon.
Disposable plastic bottles are that park’s biggest source of trash, but Coke owns the Dasani brand of water, so bye-bye ban. Public outrage forced officials to reverse this crass move, but the agency’s integrity has yet to recover.
Then this April, the Park Service abandoned its policy of
rejecting any ties to alcohol products when Anheuser-Busch became another proud
partner by making its own $2.5 million tax-deductible “gift.”
In turn, the Budweiser brand got the Statue of Liberty. Not literally, but
symbolically: Bud now has the right to plaster Lady Liberty, the iconic symbol
of the United States itself, on its cans.
And get a whiff of this: In return for a big contribution, the
government authorized Air Wick to market a new fragrance collection as being “uniquely inspired by
America’s national parks.”
The commercialization of these priceless public places isn’t
creeping — it’s running rampant.
OtherWords
columnist Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker.
He’s also editor of the populist newsletter, The
Hightower Lowdown. OtherWords.org.