I recently heard of the so called “range war” that is taking place in my home state of Nevada. If you haven’t heard about this issue, it’s a very interesting topic and I highly encourage you to research it. I don’t want to get into details about this specific issue, but instead I want to talk about some of the thoughts and emotions that it stirred up inside of me.
The world is changing, but more importantly to us, the way agriculture is treated and seen is changing. My grandfather recently was inducted into an elite group of men in Nevada. This group honors men who have rode over 100,000 miles in the saddle. Nowadays this sounds impressive and extremely difficult. To my grandfather, it was his job and his life. This was something that wasn’t out of the ordinary for his generation. Hard work wasn’t something that was out of the ordinary, hunger was something that wasn’t out of the ordinary, and fairness wasn’t always guaranteed. My grandfather’s generation paved the path for the world we live in today. They paid for this path with sweat and backbreaking work that they did day in and day out just to create more opportunity for their children and their children’s children.
If you’re reading this right now, you’re blessed. I know that we all complain about money and the so called hardships that we face every day but when you compare some of these problems to the issues that past agriculturists faced, you might want to think about keeping your mouth shut. My generation doesn’t understand what it’s like to be hungry, my generation doesn’t understand what it feels like to watch their crops wither away with no insurance or remedy, my generation doesn’t understand that life isn’t fair.
I understand that I’m not painting a very flattering picture of people my age and if you’re still reading along with me I can assure you that there is hope. I know that there are people in this world that still understand the meaning of hard work. I know that there are other households like mine who forbade the use of the word “unfair.” I know that there are other young people who believe in the FFA Creed and what it represents when it talks about “the promise of better days through better ways, even as the better things we now enjoy have come to us from the struggles of former years.” There is hope.
My grandfather’s generation struggled to give us the world we have today, the hardships they experienced were tolerated because they believed they were creating a better world for their children and grandchildren. Next time you hit a snag or come across something that you deem to be unfair or difficult, take a step back, remember your grandparents’ struggles, and then COWBOY UP!