Soapweed
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http://journalstar.com/news/opinion/editorial/columnists/local-view-friends-on-the-plains-need-support/article_2a4fac16-e186-5feb-a265-0dafed04939e.html?fb_action_ids=10201540378505472&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_ref=.Ul_TzBFa_nU.like&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210201540378505472%22%3A558413904230701%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210201540378505472%22%3A%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map=%7B%2210201540378505472%22%3A%22.Ul_TzBFa_nU.like%22%7D
Local View: Friends on the plains need support
By Senator Al Davis of Nebraska, October 17, 2013
Northwest Nebraska, the Dakotas and Wyoming were hit by a blizzard in early October.
In Nebraska, cities were submerged in a sea of tree branches. On the ranches electric lines were down and families were stranded in the house, since the storm was preceded by several hours of heavy rain, which softened the gumbo soil into a sticky, clingy mass.
As ranchers returned to their pastures they were met with a ghastly, horrific sight, finding large numbers of cattle dead along fences, in draws and ditches, and on the open plains.
It was several days before the magnitude of the storm began to be felt outside the immediate area. The media's black hole, which extends across most of the great plains, left us all wondering why the press was not covering this major blizzard, which resulted in the death of thousands of cattle, sheep, horses and wild animals.
And once the media took an interest in the story, detractors began to jump on board every chat-board, commentary site and social media site critiquing the ranch families for their profession, for their skills, and for their political views.
Is the United States becoming a meaner nation? I've been wondering about that as I read the countless ignorant attacks made on ranching families by people who really know absolutely nothing about what these people do and what they experienced in the blizzard.
For students of the profession, the very name animal husbandry implies a standard of care that supersedes merely raising animals for money. Many a ranching family has a personal relationship with their cows — they recognize them in the field, know their temperament, know their habits. When it is all over, these men and women will be dealing with long-term PTSD from what they have been through — you just can't imagine what seeing hundreds of carcasses will do to the rancher's psyche.
How sad that detractors take pen in hand to besmirch this great profession and belittle and criticize these hardworking families at their hour of greatest need.
What kind of attacks? First we've seen posts from the vegan crowd who never miss an opportunity to promote their lifestyle as superior and smear anyone with manure on their boots.
Secondly, we've seen numerous posts from individuals who believe that ranchers are ruthless capitalists bent on industrial-style livestock production above all else, the kind who will cut every corner to make a dollar. "Serves 'em right," seems to be the mantra of these writers.
Further criticism comes from writers making comments on the story within the story—that of no government assistance at a time when it is most needed due to the shutdown of the government.
Many journalists have generalized about the political opinions of ranchers, implying that there was overwhelming support for the government shutdown there. Commentators to the stories vent their spleen on these men and women and gloat that there is some divine justice that no help is available to them now.
I would strongly challenge the idea that support for the government shutdown is any more popular with ranchers than with any other sector of the population. Besides, it has nothing to do with the story itself — the story of a region decimated by a natural disaster and in need of sympathy and support.
So is the United States becoming a meaner place? All you have to do is look at Washington for an answer. Every evening on the news I see one side attacking the other, insulting each other, ignoring the needs of the American people, and pursuing victory at all cost.
Meanwhile, the nation languishes in indecision about the future. Nebraska's nonpartisan Legislature looks like a far superior form of government to me — a place where people roll up their sleeves and work through their disagreements to find a solution to a problem.
I know this — my friends on the great plains need support — financial, emotional and spiritual. For once look beyond your own beliefs and walk just a little ways in that other man's shoes. Close your eyes and put yourself out on that ranch looking at the fruits of a lifetime of hard work gone in an instant. Now do you still feel it is your place to judge?
Sen. Al Davis is a rancher who represents District 43 in northwestern Nebraska.
Local View: Friends on the plains need support
By Senator Al Davis of Nebraska, October 17, 2013
Northwest Nebraska, the Dakotas and Wyoming were hit by a blizzard in early October.
In Nebraska, cities were submerged in a sea of tree branches. On the ranches electric lines were down and families were stranded in the house, since the storm was preceded by several hours of heavy rain, which softened the gumbo soil into a sticky, clingy mass.
As ranchers returned to their pastures they were met with a ghastly, horrific sight, finding large numbers of cattle dead along fences, in draws and ditches, and on the open plains.
It was several days before the magnitude of the storm began to be felt outside the immediate area. The media's black hole, which extends across most of the great plains, left us all wondering why the press was not covering this major blizzard, which resulted in the death of thousands of cattle, sheep, horses and wild animals.
And once the media took an interest in the story, detractors began to jump on board every chat-board, commentary site and social media site critiquing the ranch families for their profession, for their skills, and for their political views.
Is the United States becoming a meaner nation? I've been wondering about that as I read the countless ignorant attacks made on ranching families by people who really know absolutely nothing about what these people do and what they experienced in the blizzard.
For students of the profession, the very name animal husbandry implies a standard of care that supersedes merely raising animals for money. Many a ranching family has a personal relationship with their cows — they recognize them in the field, know their temperament, know their habits. When it is all over, these men and women will be dealing with long-term PTSD from what they have been through — you just can't imagine what seeing hundreds of carcasses will do to the rancher's psyche.
How sad that detractors take pen in hand to besmirch this great profession and belittle and criticize these hardworking families at their hour of greatest need.
What kind of attacks? First we've seen posts from the vegan crowd who never miss an opportunity to promote their lifestyle as superior and smear anyone with manure on their boots.
Secondly, we've seen numerous posts from individuals who believe that ranchers are ruthless capitalists bent on industrial-style livestock production above all else, the kind who will cut every corner to make a dollar. "Serves 'em right," seems to be the mantra of these writers.
Further criticism comes from writers making comments on the story within the story—that of no government assistance at a time when it is most needed due to the shutdown of the government.
Many journalists have generalized about the political opinions of ranchers, implying that there was overwhelming support for the government shutdown there. Commentators to the stories vent their spleen on these men and women and gloat that there is some divine justice that no help is available to them now.
I would strongly challenge the idea that support for the government shutdown is any more popular with ranchers than with any other sector of the population. Besides, it has nothing to do with the story itself — the story of a region decimated by a natural disaster and in need of sympathy and support.
So is the United States becoming a meaner place? All you have to do is look at Washington for an answer. Every evening on the news I see one side attacking the other, insulting each other, ignoring the needs of the American people, and pursuing victory at all cost.
Meanwhile, the nation languishes in indecision about the future. Nebraska's nonpartisan Legislature looks like a far superior form of government to me — a place where people roll up their sleeves and work through their disagreements to find a solution to a problem.
I know this — my friends on the great plains need support — financial, emotional and spiritual. For once look beyond your own beliefs and walk just a little ways in that other man's shoes. Close your eyes and put yourself out on that ranch looking at the fruits of a lifetime of hard work gone in an instant. Now do you still feel it is your place to judge?
Sen. Al Davis is a rancher who represents District 43 in northwestern Nebraska.
