He doubted that a highly urban society could impart thernvirtues necessary to maintain a free Republic. Once again,rnJefferson had greater faith in character than constitutions.rnThe Southern agrarian prophets of I’ll Take My Stand echoedrnJefferson and predicted 50 years ago with uncanny accuracy thernsocial and psychological malaise that would result in a wholesalernflight to the city. Wendell Berry, in recent years, hasrnsounded a similar theme.rnThe family farm today is moving toward extinction, a trendrnthat should be of utmost concern to environmentalists. Howrnfutile it would be to protect parcels of wilderness and parks ifrnthe vastly larger tracts that feed us are stripped of fertility byrnwind, water, and human abuse. Moreover, environmentalistsrnoften forget that family farmers have as an incentive for usingrntheir land wisely the desire to pass it on to future generations;rncorporate farming is not so motivated.rnA revival of rural community is a task that will require somethingrnbetter conceived than the failed back-to-the-land movementrnof the 60’s communalists. Nevertheless, one detectsrnamong many Americans a deep yearning to escape the sterilitvrnof the urban secular city; to escape paper-shuffling jobs forrngenuinely satisfying labor; and to escape the fantasies of videoaddictionrnfor a truly human life lived firsthand. Societyrndesperately needs the perspective of a self-reliant rural class,rnwith its knowledge of nature and her workings.rnRural revival will require hardheaded economic and politicalrnappraisal. Tax breaks for current family farms and for individualsrnwishing to enter farming should be expanded; new strategiesrnfor finance, cooperation, and marketing must be instituted.rnUntil these and other changes come about, the full-time familyrnfarm will be a difficult proposition. However, opportunitiesrnfor part-time farming may open up with the advent of homebasedrncomputer work and other types of long-distance employmentrnto supplement incomes. Finding ways back to our homesteadsrncould be the next chapter in our saga as a nation ofrnpioneers.rnTime will doubtless reveal other areas for conservativeenvironmentalrncooperation. As a conservative, I have neverrnunderstood why some in my camp miss the profound but basicrnconnection between a respect for nature and conservatism. Ifrnwe are not conserving the natural grandeur of the nation andrnthe nature that sustains us, then what are we conserving? Similarly,rnit is hard to understand why some environmentalists leanrntoward varieties of leftist thinking which strain and mold liferninto tight ideological dogmas. Nothing could be so foreign tornthe rich, organic vitality of nature.rnBut despite their differences, both real and imagined, therngenuine conservati’e and the genuine environmentalist sharernpiety toward the same natural order, and love of the land. Herernthey stand together on common ground. crnLove song of the modern woman to her partnerrnby PJ MartyrrnThere’ll be no masculine nonsense.rnNor feminine yielding of self.rnThis arrangement’s based purely upon sense,rnAnd business, and fashion, and wealth.rnOur bodies well-sealed against children.rnWe’ll advocate freedom to thinkrnThat babes must be wanted, and if, when.rnAs long as they’re our shade of pink.rnOur lives secured safe against upsets,rnOur minds will be filled with debris.rnI insist upon separate sunsets—rnhi modern love, nothing is free.rnJUNE 1996/31rnrnrn