|
On the trailThe first one is under my belt. I have publicly committed to driving my team of Percherons, pulling the Loos Tales Foodlink Chuckwagon and carrying a World War II veteran in all 50 states in 2008. On Friday, May 9, 2008, a beautiful blue-sky day in Great Bend, Kan., Lonnie Wright and his wife, Alberta, took the time to join us at the Chuckwagon. Mr. Wright, not only a WWII veteran, but also a Pearl Harbor survivor, embodies everything about yesterday that each and every American needs to understand when considering how to create a better tomorrow. Not only is Lonnie a soldier but he still lives in the house that his wife's family homesteaded in the 1880s. Future generations of Americans are dependent on the American soldier and the American farmer and I am just the guy to tell them why. History is supposed to be our best teacher in preventing us from repeatedly making the same mistakes. Our nation has not built an oil refinery since 1979; consequently, we are now in the position of policing the world in order to ensure our energy supplies. Yes, since Sept. 11, 2001 we have sent 1.6 million of our nation's young people to the Middle East to protect our energy sources. I do not doubt the need to do that under the current energy conditions. But I am saying that it was our short sightedness that led us to become dependent on foreign oil and I don't want that to happen with food, as well. The second thing that I believe far too many free Americans do not realize is the level of contribution rural Americans make toward our freedom. Recent reports from the Department of Defense indicate that recruiting from inner cities around the nation is virtually non-existent, anymore. Enlistment from rural America is 50 percent higher than from urban America. We have now surpassed the death toll of 4,000 Americans in Iraq since the initial invasion. That number represents two soldiers from rural America for every one urban soldier that will never again walk on U.S. soil. Rural America, a place that most of our nation's 303 million residents visit or at least pass through on their summer vacation, has continued to provide national security to its urban neighbors for 229 years. My message is simple: The future of the United States falls directly into the hands of the American soldier and the American farmer. These two groups are now more important to the national security of our country than at any other time in our history and it seems likely, according to statistics, that these groups are actually one and the same. There is a special level of patriotism in rural American residents and they understand that things don't just happen but you must fight for them. Just like the WWII veterans who have also lived through the Great Depression, they have a great grasp of the concept that food is not always as readily available as it is today. The WWII veteran understands that other people do want to kill us. Listening to Mr. Wright describe a book written by a Japanese pilot, which recalls the enemy's efforts to take out a plane, only to find out later that it was Lonnie Wright's plane, brings a dose of reality to the situation very quickly. I don't think anybody in rural America wants a pat on the back, a payoff or any other degree of public acknowledgment. Every person I have spoken with simply wants all American citizens to have a real grasp of the dedication and loss it took and still takes to provide freedom, food and fuel for our nation. Ignorance of our own history will undoubtedly lead us down the same path of destruction, if we don't pay attention and take action. As in the era of the cattle drives, it was the chuckwagon that provided the sustenance that enabled drovers to carry on for another day and deliver the much needed food supplies from Texas to the rapidly urbanizing east coast. In 2008, it is still the Chuckwagon that will be delivering the much-needed information about the true sacrifices of our past and present few who have enabled the existence of so many. Hope to see you on down the trail, as it is the farmer and the soldier that we will hail. Editor's note: 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.FacesOfAg.com, or e-mail Trent at trent@loostales.com 5/19/08 Date: 5/15/08
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2008. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
