Subscribe Better
Netflix is $240 a year. National Parks are 80.
For $20 a month, you can watch Netflix with no ads. (Probably no ads, who knows how long that will last). In 1080p, not 4k. But for the sake of our conversation, let's say you're okay with 1080p. $240 a year. While I wouldn't consider this a good use of money, there are better options to subscribe to, and I don't mean Amazon or Paramount or Hulu.
What if we said no to ads, no to your favorite stuff being canceled, and no to venture capital buying everything that moves only to turn it to shit?
Subscribe to nature. Go outside. Go for a walk, go for a hike, go row a boat across a lake. Enjoy the quiet, the lack of billboards, peace without popups or login credentials.
A US National Park Pass is $80 a year. Every park. I think I'd rather put my money there and support conservation instead of cancelation. Yes, even if the pass has that idiot's face on it for a couple more years. Put a sticker over him. There are passes for states' parks as well, and for folks not from clown-car country, you may consider your own federal or provincial parks an investment for the future. For every year spent on Netflix, you could have three of access to every park.
Maybe we should consider what it is we're subscribing to, and what value is being given in return. What lasting benefits and where the money is going (billionaires pockets or natural wonder preservation?)
Maybe don't pay for a pass. Just cancel Netflix and all the other services that canceled you and your favorite stuff. It's a two way street, right? Whether you buy a park pass or not, we don't have to keep appeasing the billionaires and the media addiction they sell. Movies are awesome. But streaming has become just another software-as-a-service mess worse than the thing it replaced.
I'll take the better deal and see some mountains, canyons, and coastlines. At least they won't care if two or more people are viewing a scenic vista at the same time.
