Naturism and Naturisn't

I know I'm the one that's out of the ordinary, but from my perspective, it seems bizarre that anyone would go to enjoy the outdoors, and not spend at least some of that time naked (depending on the weather - I'm writing this in the midst of a heat wave). Now, I don't expect everyone to enjoy nature the way I do. But it's frustrating that everyone else expects me to enjoy nature their way, and gets frazzled when I don't. I'm not demanding that anybody else get undressed. Yet, I'm expected to wear clothes against my own wishes!

I can understand, to a certain extent, why public nudity is verboten (there's a certain disconnect with reality when you look as good as I do). Although, there are times and there are places that are more reasonable than others. A campground in the woods, a public bathhouse, a river bank on a hot, summer day - these are places that practically demand nudity, and weep when it's censured. Yet indecent exposure is treated like a strict liability crime. If somebody sees your anatomy without consenting to it, that constitutes some kind of transfer of "unlawful carnal knowledge". At the very least, it's considered a severe breach of social etiquette, instead of just part and parcel of being organic creatures possessing physical form (as it should be).

To me, getting naked in nature is not just an integral part of my personal pursuit of happiness, it's legitimately part of my spiritual identity. I do go out of my way to engage in it without "spooking" anyone, even though I question whether it's fair that I should have to. Even so, I'm haunted by the anxiety that if somebody catches me, it won't be considered an invasion of my privacy, but rather that I've committed some kind of atrocity against the interloper. And in the wrong set of circumstances, it could be a severe crime indeed.

Whether or not reality reflects these fears, these notions are commonplace, and so people will behave as though they are true. All I want is peace - to be, and to be let be, enjoying nature the way it was intended. Without alcohol. Without trashing the environment. I'm just a gentle animal, unclothed, who respects the planet that bears us graciously upon its surface. Why do I feel hunted, like I'm some kind of vicious predator whose population needs to be culled? I'm harmless, and I'm endangered. The law should protect my way of life.