It's All About the Beef

A man  by the name of LaVoy Finicum was shot dead by the Federal authorities, while he had his hands up. The Bundy Militia has stood down from their takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon. And life goes on.

One side will quote you Bible verses as if they were the constitution, and sections from the constitution as if they were Bible verses. The other side is laughing and saying: well, how did you think it was going to end? Did you really think you could go up against the big, bad Federal government with a few guns and some Bible verses and the constitution and win?

Even my most libertarian friends have said to me: that is just like asking for war. Yes. that's what it is. And so was the American Revolution. The only difference is: then, those fighting for freedom had the support of those who were not. Today, asking for war is not really practical, because no one will stand up and be counted with you, and they will just say you deserved what you got when it happens.

So here's what I really think: no matter who you are, right wing or left, Bible-thumper or unbeliever, strict constructionist of the constitution or a follower of unfettered democracy: It's all about the beef. It's about your food supply. It's about the price of meat in the supermarket. It's about that steak dinner you like to eat, or the hamburgers you buy at the fast food place. And even if you are a sworn vegan, it's going to affect you where it really hurts: in your pocket book and your belly. There will be economic repercussions for all of us when those ranchers give up and close off their businesses, and go on unemployment and welfare, with their hat in their hands, like everybody else. It's not just on our heads -- we will feel it in our stomachs.

Should the Federal government own that land? No, they shouldn't. The constitution does not allow that.  But who pays attention to the constitution? That document has been pretty much ignored since before the Civil War. It was a good idea, but the people will not fight for it, so it's very, very dead.

However, city people need to realize that when they allow the authorities to destroy the independent farmer and rancher, they have only themselves to blame when there is nothing but factory produced food on the grocery store shelves. Do you want free range chickens and grass fed beef? Where do you think they come from? Not a collective farm run by hippies, I assure you. And not from the government.

This is just like what happened all those many years in the concentration camp near Weihsien in Shandong Province. When the prisoners did not stand up for the Chinese farmers who were shot for selling them eggs, they lost their egg supply. It's that simple.

You don't need to like the farmer or rancher who raises your food. You do not need to believe in what he believes or go to the same church or use the same jargon. But when he goes down, you need to get ready for very hard times at the dinner table.