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Today's good politicianBy Trent Loos Last week I had the opportunity to speak in my home state of Nebraska in Prague at the 50th annual Saunders County Livestock Association meeting. I often speak of the energy and passion for agriculture that our nation's young people have, but let me tell you what, it is not only our youth. Yes, there were several young people in the audience, but of the 400 individuals present, at least six personally told me they were over 80. And I will just finish by saying that there was a lot of experience gathered in that one building. A true celebration of life in rural America is the best way to describe the event. I was there thanks in large part to efforts of the current president of the organization, Richard Bartek. Richard's endeavors off the farm have become quite obvious in the three times I have interacted with him in the past couple of years. Now I understand where he gets it, because this time I got to meet his father, Mike Bartek. The elder Bartek is the "the sole survivor" of the founder members of this organization. And as I said before, it is now 50 years old. During my brief visit with him, I was reminded that we don't spend near enough time with the World War II veterans that are still living. Mike was quick to tell me that it was 63 years ago to the day that he was at the "Battle of the Bulge" living in fox holes or snows banks and going 119 days without bathing. Thousands of lice and ticks covered his body as he put his life on the line everyday to fight "the last war we would ever need to fight." Well, that was the motivation that kept him going every day at the time. I find that World War II veterans simply have a different outlook on life. I believe they truly understand the value of human life and the sacrifices that humans have made before us to provide the great opportunities that we have as free American citizens. At the meeting, I had the good fortune of meeting an individual from my own generation as well. Chris Langemeier is the State Senator that represents this district at the state capitol. He made a very interesting but true statement about a good elected official in today's world. Senator Langemeier told me the good elected officials in today's political climate are not the ones who sponsor the most legislation, but rather those who stop the most bad legislation. Honestly, I have never looked at it like that but I think he is exactly right on. Ironically in this very week that we are gathered in Prague, Neb., I can't count on both hands how many bad bills that I know of have been introduced that need to be stopped. In Nebraska alone, two measures that were killed included one that would have banned all hunting and trapping in the state. The other would have banned gestation stalls in the pork industry. Yes, most people believe that can only happen in urban states but obviously no state is immune from such a ridiculous law. I will also tell you, had it not been for the swift and effective action of the Nebraska Pork Producers in uniting all of the agricultural commodity groups in the state on a minute's notice, that ridiculous bill may have become law. In the state of Colorado, discussion is taking place about banning some forms of hunting. Anyone who has a fence on their property could be barred from allowing hunters on their place if HB-1096 were to pass. The state of Indiana is discussing a ban on a technology in the dairy industry that has been proven safe because one squeaky wheel knows how to make a lot of noise. These are just four things that come to my mind while sitting on an airplane, reflecting back on last night's meeting. The bottom-line is that our citizens, our history teachers and, most of all, our elected officials have all forgotten the real purpose of government. The founding fathers of our country intended for government to protect its citizens and nothing more. Today, we have laws proposed to protect business interests, the birds, the deer and the pallid sturgeon. In too many cases, these laws are enacted without consideration for their effect on the most important resource God put here on this earth--human beings. Do yourself a favor the next time you think you are having a bad day, find a World War II veteran in your community and ask them to take you for a walk down their memory lane. You might learn something that will give you a valuable new outlook on life. 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. 2/4/08 Date: 1/31/08
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