Letter: We don't have dictators here

Dear Editor,

After reading the letter to the editor entitled “Support public lands workers” in the Green River Star dated Wednesday, Jan. 28, I felt that it was imperative to respond.

The author sounded concerned about the mistreatment of “public lands” workers, and made shocking statements such as “Do locals “know better” and are they “more just”? The author made further reference to his “rule of thumb” and stated “The best ruler is strong and far away, the worst is weak and nearby”, further stating “A homier way to envision this is to imagine your grumpy neighbor suddenly becoming your town or city’s dictator”. I would like to remind your readers and the author that we live in the United States of America. This is a republic. Not a dictatorship. WE DON’T HAVE RULER’S OR DICTATOR’S. If you desire that form of government, PLEASE MOVE! I hear California is great this time of year, and it is heavily regulated. It’s a train wreck!

The actual evidence as cited on the National Lands Counsel website indicates that the best managers of a land are those that make their living from it. Not necessarily nomadic industry, but those who live on it and depend on it for their livelihood. I for one am sick of this un-scientific rhetoric that people are bad for the earth, and we should all kill ourselves to save the planet while bowing to our governmental overlords. I am also disgusted by this nonsense that the people are incapable of making good decisions, and that we must rely on federal intervention in order to succeed. Our nation is over 18 trillion dollars in debt. I didn’t do that! I doubt any of your readers were responsible either. If they are not able to manage a budget, why should we trust them to manage our land? It’s just common sense.

I strongly believe that we should do everything possible to maintain sound stewardship of our natural resources, but just like everything else, this is all about money, not conservation. The author stated “Currently we have free, or nearly free, and easy access to most of the public lands for recreation, whereas if it were private land this would not be the case”. My response? An out of state hunter has a better chance to get drawn for a premium elk area than a resident. I pay to hunt, I pay to fish. In addition to that I have to buy a conservation stamp. I have to license my boat, and if that weren’t enough, I have to pay an additional tax to keep a stupid clam out of our waters. What will Game and Fish say when that clam shows up in spite of all the money the people have paid? We have to license our four wheelers and other recreational vehicles. It’s all a money game. Taxation without representation, as most of these taxes were not put to a vote.

The bottom line in all this revolves around the Constitution of the United States, and the people beginning to wake up to the fact that our government should be a government OF THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE. As soon as the state puts its needs ahead of its constituent’s, we have wondered away from that idea. When this idea is forgotten, any lover of liberty should become angry.

I strongly agree that We The People should not display irrational and unfair behavior toward those who work for the federal government. I strongly believe that it is equally important for those who work for the federal government to remember that they are public servants, and that the land they manage is not theirs alone. It is PUBLIC LAND!

Rob Jones

Green River