We have just completed our Bridging America event in Keystone, South Dakota, with the goal of uniting us all in the name of food security. We brought back together the core of the ARISE USA tour for a reunion from our 2021 event.
We added a diverse group of people to the mix, telling the truth about health and wellness, education, and military service in today’s world but I will ask the question: Who really cares?
One year ago, my greatest frustration of the ARISE USA tour was the fact that the majority of the people showed up simply to ask “when is Trump coming back to fix this?” I repeatedly told them that former President Donald Trump is not coming back and that was upsetting to them. This year, I not only believe that Trump is not coming back but I think he is a part of the problem.
I have the U.S. Constitution in my pocket every day. It clearly states that “We the People” must run the country. In fact, on a regular basis I hear how important that is. It’s time we stop waiting for someone else to come save the day; we are the ones chosen for this task. We continue to complain about what President Joe Biden is doing or how the county assessor is destroying the ability to continue farming or ranching, but what are we doing about it?
Don’t get me wrong, the federal government, in my opinion, is out of control. In fact, I plan to attend a meeting in South Dakota where the feds are seeking 44,000 acres of deeded property from landowners in Charles Mix and Gregory counties along the Missouri River for an alternative energy project. My belief is this—it’s all about taking away private property and private property rights.
The feds are spending millions of dollars to destroy electricity producing dams on the Snake River in Idaho and the Klamath River in Oregon and California while simultaneously working to increase the demand for electricity. And it appears to them that coal can’t be part of that supply. These are problems that your elected officials need to be hearing about on a daily basis.
But back to another concern: County elected officials could run amok. State by state, assessed taxable values are skyrocketing. That can lead to over-taxing and an overspending problem at the local level. The local level is the easiest for us to maneuver. People need to show up at every school board and county commissioner meeting so they can hear our complaints.
The most important takeaway from all these challenges is that people need to engage in the process and be part of the solution. I realize we all just want things to get back to “normal” but sadly this may become our new normal. People can no longer ignore the reality of what is happening and they must start doing things that are not comfortable if we want to have any hope of passing our livelihood and our freedom on to our children.
Editor’s note: The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not represent the views of High Plains Journal. Trent Loos is a sixth generation United States farmer, host of the daily radio show, Loos Tales, and founder of Faces of Agriculture, a non-profit organization putting the human element back into the production of food. Get more information at www.LoosTales.com, or email Trent at [email protected].