As a newspaper columnist, you are occasionally outrage certain segments of the general populace. In my particular case, it is usually the anti-hunting, firearms, trapping and even anti-fishing “activists.” In one memorable instance, I tremendously angered a beekeeper.

Today, I’m probably going to make everyone else angry.

The thesis today is a simple rant that has been festering deep within the twisted psyche of this writer for many years: the outdoors has grown too darn commercial.

I hope the reader understands that making this statement in print is the professional equivalent of suicide. That alone should indicate the depth of the problem.

This whole idea bubbled to the surface as I sat researching recent outdoor news for a column. Bone-tired from two weeks of dealing with a family medical crisis, I had to wade through tedious page after tedious page of sponsorship announcements for the upcoming professional fishing season.

Pausing to wipe the boredom from my brow, I suddenly realized that several of the sponsorships had absolutely connection whatsoever to of the art of fishing and were in fact stupid, greedy marriages of convenience. I finally pounded my fist on the desk at the insanity, causing my English setter (brought to you by Dog Chew-brand dog food) flee from the room.

First, let me state that I am a dyed-in-the-debit card capitalist. I think that a half-dozen wealthy business owners and corporations do more for the common good than all the dippy neo-socialist “economic activists” protesting in front of the White House. I have no problem with the concept of sponsorship or manufacturers using the outdoors as part of their marketing plan.

But where does it all stop?

As good Americans, let’s first assign blame. As an outdoor writer, I’ll put the outdoor media up for the first thrashing.

For many years the outdoor media has been the worse of the bunch for swilling at the trough of manufacturers and public relations firms. Standard journalism ethics forbid writers from taking anything of value from someone connected to a story. In the case of the outdoor media, this idea is 180 degrees backward: virtually nothing is printed or broadcast unless the media players walk away with some kind of “complimentary” swag.

Lest anyone remind that my own halo is in need of a little polishing, I’ll admit to having received a few freebies over the years. I assuage my own moral discomfort with the thin excuse that I haven’t given any product more or better mention than it deserved. Unfortunately my very lax moral compass is the fairly rare among many outdoor media types.

The proliferation of outdoor television shows is a prime culprit. Television production is very expensive and someone has to foot the bill. Unfortunately, many of today’s shows are little more than thinly veiled infomercials touting this or that brand of fishing line, boat and hemorrhoid cream. Personally, I prefer my advertising obvious and made during commercial breaks when I can get another sandwich from the refrigerator.

Who is responsible for the rest of this mess? Look in the mirror.

We are the ones who demand “new and improved” products every year even though they are usually repackaged versions of last year’s junk. The modern outdoor consumer demands a bow that shoots at 3200 feet per second and buys the new gun calibers that do nothing more than the 1000 other tried-and-true calibers already on the market.

We want to hear our outdoor heroes talk about technologically advanced hiking shoes that cost more than my first car. Why is there a demand for such senseless costume jewelry?

Face it: we have bought the product blurbs hook, line and sinker. Nowadays, self-esteem suffers if you aren’t riding in a $50,000 bass boat equipped with $3 fishhooks, a locker full of rods that were designed by NASA, artificial lures that cost more than an entire minnow pond and a suite of electronics so complicated that you could get you thrown in prison if they were sold to a non-favored nation.

I like technology and progress but such dubious advancement simply for the sake of “new” is silly. In the outdoors it dilutes and degrades the experience, changing a contemplative and relaxing pastime into a competitive endeavor that resembles the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. I don’t need that. Neither do you.

I don’t advocate throwing away the graphite rods and returning to the days of a willow shoot and bent pin. However, I would submit that technology, marketing and hype in the outdoor world have grown past the point of progress and have entered a phase of burnout and ruination.

There is still a place in the outdoors for Grandpappy’s old rifle, a fiberglass fishing rod, boats that run less than 70 miles per hour, a good belt knife – and simplicity.

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