Blog #17 Snyder

This was a very creative piece to say the least. I have to say that I am not too familiar with Smokey the Bear. I am pretty familiar with Buddhism though through my Religion 205 class this semester. The way that he compares Smokey to a Buddha and what he stands for as a religion is really interesting. I always enjoy new ways of looking at things and that is exactly what is happening with this piece of literature. He is taking an iconic image (Smokey the Bear) that usually stands for forest fire prevention, and turning it into something much more. He now stands for a kind of religious aspect of wildlife conservation. He even portrays Smokey as a kind of extremist protector. It’s quite extreme, but I do think that it displays its point very well.