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Show Page 10 The Ogden Valley news Volume XXVII Issue VI August 1, 2020 Thank God, I Was Raised by a Farmer…. By Shanna Francis All I can say, after checking the news at the end of each day… Thank you God, for letting me be raised by a farmer! Watching current events unfold in America, I shake my head, drop my jaw, and wonder, “What in the “heck” has happened? How is it that the world has turned upside down? How is it that major news casts are couching good as bad and bad as good? How is it that people feel it is their right to destroy other’s property? How is it that government was instituted in America for the sole purpose of securing fundamental rights—primarily, the defense of citizens, individually and as a whole, from bodily harm (thus, the institution & funding of police and military forces), the defense of private property (thus, the institution & funding of police and military forces), and the defense of national sovereignty (thus, the institution & funding of police and military forces). In summary, the role of government is to provide “defensive activities, as maintaining national military and local police forces for protection against loss of life, loss of property, and loss of liberty at the hands of either foreign despots or domestic criminals.” As John Locke explained, “The end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. For in all the states of created beings, capable of laws, where there is no law there is no freedom. For liberty is to be free from restraint and violence from others, which cannot be where there is no law; and is not, as we are told, ‘a liberty for every man to do what he lists.’ For who could be free, when every other man’s humour might domineer over him? But a liberty to dispose and order freely as he lists his person, actions, possessions, and his whole property within the allowance of those laws under which he is, and therein not to be subject to the arbitrary will of another, but freely follow his own.” Common sense dictates that we consider: If protection of rights is the proper role of government, then why, currently, are calls being made all across America to defund police departments, set free criminals within the penal system, honor and make allowances for civil disobedience that destroys private property and the security of law-abiding citizens? Has not every child in America been schooled and taught these fundamental truths about the proper role of government, which are the basis of American government? Has not every child been taught to honor and respect these truths in order for freedom to be perpetuated and not hindered, squandered, and lost? Cannot every adult understand, with acute clarity, these foundational principles? No? If not, why? My conclusion… they must not have had the blessing of being raised by a down-to-earth farmer. In hind sight, I learned a lot of lessons living day-in and day-out on our family ranch. These lessons were never formally taught, but were learned implicitly. Property Rights – Historically, a good strong fence around your pasture was the manifestation and expression of the institutionalized sacred principle of private property rights. You wouldn’t dream of trespassing or destroying another’s property, and could expect all to honor your property, too. This is why, growing up, no one ever locked their doors, and crimes of vandalism and property theft were almost unheard of. And, if someone stole another’s irrigation water, you couldn’t blame a person for shooting them. Common Sense – Being raised by a farmer, you learned that there wasn’t much room or margin for error; the cost of being stupid was, most likely, pretty high. For instance, you might get kicked in the head by a horse, loose a year’s crop (your livelihood), or even the farm. Make Do, or Do Without – On a farm, you learned to make do or do without. It taught good old American ingenuity—to make the most out of what you had. And, somehow, even if you were poor, you survived… without a welfare check! Trust me; life can be sustained for an unimaginable length of time on just homemade bread and butter. Have you ever thought about all the things you can do with barbed wire or bailing cord? Tough as Nails – Living on a farm, you learned to be tough or you didn’t survive. On a farm, a lot of “crap” comes your way, and you have to push it around a lot (every spring out of the corrals!), and that’s ok! It gave you a feeling of strength and accomplishment and allowed you to appreciate even the small gifts found in life. To this day, I love the smell of manure—even after doing a full face plant in it one spring! Dealing With Hard Things – Hard things happen, and you see a lot of it on a farm. Every year, livestock and pets die, or you have to shoot them—like my dad’s beautiful, expensive prized stud that broke its leg within the first few months after my dad purchased him. Accidents happen; it’s part of life. Hard Work – I’ve never seen anyone work harder, physically, than a farmer. It doesn’t matter how cold the temperatures are or how blustery the weather is, when you have a herd of cattle waiting to be fed morning and night, and making sure their water hasn’t frozen over. It’s no fun waking up two or three times in the middle of the night to ride out on the range to change irrigation dams—full moon or no moon. Then there are post holes to dig, barbed wire to stretch, rangeland to be cleared of rock and sage brush, etc. Too Busy to Feel Sorry for Yourself – When you’re busy taking care of a farm, there’s no time to worry about what others think; no time to feel sorry for yourself; no time to assess your own value—if your life matters; no time to spend day, after day, after day, after day rioting or protesting on the streets. You have things to do or the farm will go under and there ain’t gonna be anyone to bail ya out. It’s either sink or swim. You have a family to provide for and life to take care of. Self-reliance – On a farm, you learn that the best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm, and if anything is going to get done, it’s up to you to gett’er done! Practicality – To survive on a farm, you Subscriptions available for out-of-area residents at $18 annually. Send payment with mailing address to: The Ogden Valley news PO BOX 130, EDEN UT 84310 reflexively, instinctively learn to become as practical as possible. It’s a survival skill that is honed through years of touch-and-go experiences. Throwing things at a police officer hired to establish peace and order and domestic tranquility? Who is there to help you when you call 911… it’s not a practical thing to do. Don’t Waste Resources – Tied in with being practical is not being wasteful. You only need an inch or two in the bottom of a bathtub to get clean, you don’t let the water run while you brush your teeth (you turn it on to wet your toothbrush, turn it off again, then turn it back on to rinse your toothbrush). You don’t waste food; you eat what you take and keep eating it day in and day out until it’s gone. To deliberately destroy something… unheard of! It would be a waste of hard-earned resources, tax dollars (public property), or the hard-earned resources of the private owners. Life is Precious.… Be Nice – On a farm, you learn that life is tenuous. Therefore, you can be tough, but nice, too. Tough decisions are constantly having to be made, but it only makes you appreciate the importance of goodness—a good neighbor, a good friend, good manners, good and right action. Life is too short to live otherwise. Paul Harvey summed it up in this nowfamous monologue “So God Made a Farmer,” as shared below. Perhaps all we need to fix all the problems in the world today… more farmers…. So God Made a Farmer And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a caretaker” - so God made a Farmer. God said, “I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper, then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board” GRANT cont. from page 1 businesses take advantage of this great opportunity to receive support from the federal CARES Act fund. We also encourage consumers to ‘Shop In Utah’ and support Utah businesses.” Applications are being accepted at <utahgoed.info/shop-in-utah> The grant program information and application are also available at <coronavirus.utah.gov> To be eligible for Shop In Utah, businesses must: • Offer a discount or other financial incentive with an estimated value to customers of at least 50% of the grant amount. • Have experienced a revenue decline related to COVID-19. • Have been in operation since March 1, 2020. • Have employees that are physically located in Utah. • Establish that the use of funds will benefit the state economy. • Not receive funding from the COVID-19 Cultural Assistance Grant program (‘Create In Utah’) administered by Utah Division of Arts & Museums in the Dept. of Heritage & Arts (this grant program is open until Aug. 7, 2020). Shop In Utah grant amounts may not exceed the business entity’s coronavirus pandemic revenue decline, or $50,000. A business owner could look at lost revenues and come up with an appropriate Shop In Utah customer discount. For example, if a qualifying - so God made a Farmer. “I need somebody with arms strong enough to rustle a calf and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild; somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry, have to wait lunch until his wife’s done feeding visiting ladies, then tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon—and mean it” - so God made a Farmer. God said, “I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt, and watch it die, then dry his eyes and say, ‘Maybe next year.’ I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from a persimmon sprout, shoe a horse with a hunk of car tire, who can make harness out of haywire, feed sacks and shoe scraps; who, planting time and harvest season, will finish his forty-hour week by Tuesday noon, and then pain’n from tractor back, put in another seventy-two hours” - so God made a Farmer. God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain clouds, and yet stop in mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbor’s place - so God made a Farmer. God said, “I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bails, yet gentle enough to tame lambs and wean pigs and tend the pinkcombed pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the broken leg of a meadow lark.” It had to be somebody who’d plow deep and straight and not cut corners; somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk and replenish the self-feeder and finish a hard week’s work with a five-mile drive to church; somebody who would bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh, and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says that he wants to spend his life “doing what dad does” - so God made a Farmer. Utah business lost $30,000 in revenue since the coronavirus pandemic began, it could create a discount or promotion worth a total of $15,000 in savings to its customers to claim a Shop In Utah grant worth $30,000. Shop In Utah customer discounts can take many forms. By way of illustration, here are a few examples: • A retailer offers a buy-one-get-one deal, giving customers a discount of up to $5,000 combined by month’s end; Shop In Utah grant amount is $10,000 • A manufacturer offers customers a 20% discount for two weeks, committing to $25,000 off retail pricing; Shop In Utah grant amount is $50,000 • A hotel offers 50% off bookings in August, up to $25,000 off retail pricing; Shop In Utah grant amount is $50,000 Additional examples are available at <utahgoed.info/shop-in-utah> Completed applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The application process will remain open until all grant funds are appropriated. Shop In Utah grant checks will be distributed on a rolling basis beginning the first week of August. For a complete list of requirements, necessary documentation and instructions, visit <utahgoed.info/shop-in-utah> Business owners may also email shopinutah@utah.gov with inquiries or questions. |