Mind Your Own Business

There are any number of groups that have developed over the last few years dedicated to abolishing most of the varied uses found on public land in the west today.  You have to say “in the west” because there is very little public land east of the Rockies, and virtually none along the bank of states east of the Big Muddy.  The lands east of the Mississippi were first stolen from the original inhabitants and then declared “owned,” so those fanatics who believe the public lands should be off limits to everyone but themselves, for their own selfish uses, make their case “in the west.”  They seem to have not heard the phrase, ‘mind your own business.’

No motorized vehicles, no mining, no ranching or farming, no commercial enterprise of any kind.  These millions of acres should be as pristine as when the first human set foot there, and since those first humans had only their feet as means of transportation, only hiking should be allowed.  Most of those advocating this social structure are under fifty years of age, and among that extreme selfish generation of ‘me first.’

Oil reserves in Texas are found, for the most part, on private land.  Indians, or if you prefer, Native Americans, have vast oil reserves on private lands in Oklahoma.  Pennsylvania comes to mind as does Louisiana.  Oh, my, let’s not forget California.  So, it seems, if you own the land, commercial enterprise may be an accepted practice, but heaven forbid, it shouldn’t happen on the sage and cheat grass covered open spaces of most of the western states.

It’s the same government that stole the land from the eastern tribes that stole the land from the western tribes.  Why then were those eastern lands then made available for private ownership by citizens, but westerners are not allowed to own any of that land.  Personally, I would love to homestead 160 or 320 acres of public land in Nevada.  Patty and I are almost self reliant on two, I’d dance till dawn with 160.

And again, you want to say, mind your own business.  Those that hike hate horseback riders.  Horseback riders don’t get along all that well with off road motorcycles and cyclists.  But what’s important to remember, there is room for all, and all must get along with each other for the concept of public land to work.  We pay for it, we pay for the over grazing by wild horses,  We pay for the failed efforts of federal and state wildlife preservation work, we pay for the trails that aren’t maintained. That’s why it’s called public land.  There’s more to ‘public’ than hiking.

Now, we have another area of fuzzy thinking making its way through the public news rooms filled with reporters that have probably never sniffed the aroma of desert dust following a big old thunder boomer in the Big Smoky Valley.  One group is claiming that since some animals can be trained as easily as a dog can, that they shouldn’t be considered food.  They’re starting with pigs.

Anyone who has ever raised or been around pigs is very aware of just how smart those animals are.  Intelligence has nothing to do with flavor, my little vegan fools.  If you want to be a vegan, then be one, but don’t proselytize me, because I have raised some damn smart animals in my lifetime, and I have eaten some smart, dumb, even stupid ones.

One group of vegans calling themselves Farm Sanctuary ask, “Why don’t you eat cats?  You eat pigs.  Why not dogs?”  Obviously these people have never been outside the confines of the U.S. borders, because, and if you served overseas in your military career, you know this for a fact, in many countries and areas of the world, cats, dogs, rats, monkeys, horses, and other forms of animal protein are found on many menus.

I’m not upset with the vegan, I’m upset with the vegan that has the audacity to tell me how to live my life.  Mind your own business, please.  I’m upset with the little selfish city type that tells me that commercial enterprise should never happen on public land, and that only people like him should be allowed to use that land.  Look up the meaning of the word “public” first, and then, mind your own business.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in “public” money is spent in law suits defending the rights of the “public” to use “public” land, and more hundreds of millions of dollars are spent by commercial interests to be included in that delightful word “public.”

It’s past time for the government of this country to get out of the “land” business.  They have done a miserable job caring for the land and its inhabitants, is spending far more money for projects that have no science behind them, and seem to be catering to a few very selfish groups that, while they can spell ecology, don’t know the true meaning of the word.

Ah, the pleasure of having a blog.  Until next time, read good book and stay regular.