Greetings,
So things are still heating up between Ukraine, Russia, The EU (European Union), and the USA. But I think the bigger story is the showdown in Nevada.
Now, regardless from which source you consume your news, this story represents a bigger problem in American government.
I'm not going to get into taking sides with the feds or Cliven Bundy. I think both sides have done things wrong. First, the federal government made bad laws and created agencies with too much power over individual life and liberty. However, Cliven Bundy knowingly broke the law. After what went down with Gibson guitars a few years ago (http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2011/08/31/140090116/why-gibson-guitar-was-raided-by-the-justice-department ), it seems like American citizens would have realized that the federal government has the "right" to do anything it wants. I do commend Cliven Bundy on standing up to the feds and purposely disobeying an unjust law knowing the consequences.
But I digress. In keeping with the theme of this blog, the larger problem lies within "We the people." As I've said before, we generally care more about the Kardashians or the Final Four than we do about our own government. We elect politicians who then vote such legislation into law. All party affiliates are at fault. Libertarians are notorious for not going to the polls en masse until its too late. Republicans and Democrats care more about keeping someone with an (R) or a (D) in front of their name rather than doing what's right for the country. So we continue to reelect people who vote for bad legislation. Gibson Guitars is just one example of the repercussions of this lack of participation on our part. Gibson was one of the few remaining American made producers. Now they have to import wood in its finished form, taking jobs away from the Americans previously finishing that wood before it was transformed into a guitar. Similarly, Cliven Bundy runs a ranch that employs people, and provides food to the local market. Now, that may all be gone very soon.
According to Politico.com, the federal government owns a little more than 81% of land in Nevada, which is "managed" by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management). So to protect some desert tortoises and some rare flowers, we have this huge government agency who comes and inhibits a cattle rancher's ability to make money. That's what it all boils down to. So I guess we'd rather Cliven Bundy go apply for welfare and unemployment so that some desert tortoises may live? That would be more acceptable, right? So our taxes pay for the BLM, the public land it manages, and then maybe Cliven Bundy's welfare check because he can't graze his cattle on land that is not even being used for anything by the feds except protection of an animal that provides no apparent benefit to the nation as a whole.
Another story that isn't making it to the mainstream is how the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, has colluded with the Chinese to build a solar energy plant on the land (http://www.wnd.com/2014/04/harry-reids-last-roundup/). Furthermore, the price to lease land for grazing rights in that part of the country is around 25 cents an acre for a 99 year lease. Bundy says he estimates that he only owes $300,000 and he's actually willing to pay it. But this issue of the money he owed never came up until he refused to be kicked off the land to save the desert tortoise.
But let me get back to the issue. Cliven Bundy, Gibson Guitars, and any other person or company doesn't matter. It's really about the psychology of the American public as a whole. Why do we allow the government, which we fund, to do the things it does? Why do we give up responsibility for governing ourselves at the micro level to a big bureaucracy who messes things up the majority of the time? It doesn't take the EPA, or BLM, or anyone else to save the desert tortoise, or the rare wood used in Gibson Guitars. And in my opinion, the federal government has no business owning "public lands" except for military bases and federal buildings. Do you really believe that the federal government is the only benevolent entity that is capable of maintaining parks and land for the good of the people? And even if you do believe that, why should all taxpayers pay for land that is used for a small majority of people's recreation, or to protect animals? Isn't that what zoos and private parks are for? Or at least state and city parks? Do you really want the feds coming in from Washington, D.C. to tell you what you can do in your own backyard? Do you think that they are capable of understanding what goes on in your own backyard?
The answer to these problems lies within us. We only have ourselves to blame for allowing people like Harry Reid to stay in office for so long. Go vote. Get active in all levels of politics. Take responsibility for managing your own life. Is education or medical treatment really a human right? Think about it. That means that an educator or a doctor will be forced to give you a service that you think you are entitled to. So that must mean doctors and educators aren't human because they don't have the right to deprive you of a service that you believe is your right. We heading down a path to severe oppression because "we the people" expect/want too much from our government. Think about it, what will we do when there aren't enough doctors or educators to provide these supposed human rights? I guess the government will then have to step in yet again to force people to become educators and doctors in order to provide the citizenry with their assumed human rights. Think about that the next time you see the bumper sticker reading "Healthcare is a Human Right." When we give the government the power/responsibility to govern aspects of our life, we also give up certain liberties.
This has been more of a plea to my fellow citizens to stand up and start taking back responsibility for own lives in order to make this country a better place. How many more Gibson Guitar or Cliven Bundy incidents will it take for us to do something? Or, how many more wars will we have to allow our politicians to put us in before we actually start participating in our government? I hope not too many.
Until next time, stay active and please participate in the operations of this republic, before it's too late.
Semper Fi,
Chris Bentley
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