leanin' H
Well-known member
Since the pandemic began, I haven't had a day off. I've shown up 7 days a week to work and I have done whatever it takes to feed my family and to feed yours.
Ya see, I am a rancher. My cattle require care and water and feeding everyday, regardless of what happens in the world. When you all went into lock down, I still went to work. When you all started getting unemployment payments to stay home, I went to work. When you went to the grocery store and found empty shelves, I was working hard to send beef and lamb and pork to the processor, so that it could be sent out to restock those stores.
You had a choice to stay home or go into work for a while. I did not. And I'd like to explain why.
I have had this bunch of cattle since 1997. I am a proud 5th generation rancher who follows in the same footsteps of my Great-Great Grandfather and Mother who started our ranch here in the desert in the mid 1800's. It's a challenge to make a living in a place where rain is often scarce and grass is hard to come by.
But my lifestyle is one based on freedom. I have spent my life outside, on a horse. My days start when the sun rises and some don't end until the moon is high. I do whatever it takes to ensure my livestock are cared for and looked after, rain or shine.
So when Covid showed up in all its glory, I did what folks like me all over America and Canada do everyday; I put my head down and kept working. Lots of people in many vocations did the exact same thing. Police and Fire. Nurses and Doctors. Grocery store workers and Truck Drivers. We all just did what we do. Work.
I take a lot of pride in my work ethic. And I am not writing this for accolades or praise. I am writing this so that you folks who vilify me and others like me who aren't planning to be vaccinated might pitch me some slack. Back before the vaccine was available, none of you all seemed to care much that I was working and not in a lock down. In fact, Many of the people i listed above were told they were essential and could not stay home.
So what has changed? You all still enjoy eating regularly right? And I am still doing my very best to provide healthy, nutritious protein to America and the world, Right?
The way I see it, if my work during the height of the pandemic was essential, it sure as hell is just as important now. I will never vilify you for wearing a mask or getting vaccinated. And I simply wish you might allow me that same respect and freedom.
There is never a set of rules or regulations that fits neatly over everyone. One size never fits all. While major cities most likely need mandates, those of us in rural America feel strongly that our independence and freedom carry more weight than some self-serving politician telling us how we ought to live.
Mr. Patrick Henry put it very succinctly when he said in March of 1775, "Give me liberty, or give me death"! Can I die from Covid? Absolutely! Can the vaccine protect folks? Without a doubt! But to quote the Pro-Abortion liberals- "My body, My choice"! If that applies to someone doing something as serious as terminating a pregnancy, it should hold the same exact weight when i decide what i want injected into my body! I was essential/expendable for the past 18 months while I was working to feed you, un-vaccinated. I reckon not a whole bunch has changed.
Leanin' H
Ya see, I am a rancher. My cattle require care and water and feeding everyday, regardless of what happens in the world. When you all went into lock down, I still went to work. When you all started getting unemployment payments to stay home, I went to work. When you went to the grocery store and found empty shelves, I was working hard to send beef and lamb and pork to the processor, so that it could be sent out to restock those stores.
You had a choice to stay home or go into work for a while. I did not. And I'd like to explain why.
I have had this bunch of cattle since 1997. I am a proud 5th generation rancher who follows in the same footsteps of my Great-Great Grandfather and Mother who started our ranch here in the desert in the mid 1800's. It's a challenge to make a living in a place where rain is often scarce and grass is hard to come by.
But my lifestyle is one based on freedom. I have spent my life outside, on a horse. My days start when the sun rises and some don't end until the moon is high. I do whatever it takes to ensure my livestock are cared for and looked after, rain or shine.
So when Covid showed up in all its glory, I did what folks like me all over America and Canada do everyday; I put my head down and kept working. Lots of people in many vocations did the exact same thing. Police and Fire. Nurses and Doctors. Grocery store workers and Truck Drivers. We all just did what we do. Work.
I take a lot of pride in my work ethic. And I am not writing this for accolades or praise. I am writing this so that you folks who vilify me and others like me who aren't planning to be vaccinated might pitch me some slack. Back before the vaccine was available, none of you all seemed to care much that I was working and not in a lock down. In fact, Many of the people i listed above were told they were essential and could not stay home.
So what has changed? You all still enjoy eating regularly right? And I am still doing my very best to provide healthy, nutritious protein to America and the world, Right?
The way I see it, if my work during the height of the pandemic was essential, it sure as hell is just as important now. I will never vilify you for wearing a mask or getting vaccinated. And I simply wish you might allow me that same respect and freedom.
There is never a set of rules or regulations that fits neatly over everyone. One size never fits all. While major cities most likely need mandates, those of us in rural America feel strongly that our independence and freedom carry more weight than some self-serving politician telling us how we ought to live.
Mr. Patrick Henry put it very succinctly when he said in March of 1775, "Give me liberty, or give me death"! Can I die from Covid? Absolutely! Can the vaccine protect folks? Without a doubt! But to quote the Pro-Abortion liberals- "My body, My choice"! If that applies to someone doing something as serious as terminating a pregnancy, it should hold the same exact weight when i decide what i want injected into my body! I was essential/expendable for the past 18 months while I was working to feed you, un-vaccinated. I reckon not a whole bunch has changed.
Leanin' H
