Local Government

As I was watching one of my favorite programs, "Oregon Field Guide" I saw an episode wherein young kids were being introduced to "rural" life. The reason was from the fact that wolves had been re-introduced to Idaho and Montana as they had become endangered due to man doing all they could to wipe them out. Wolves prey on livestock, so ranchers were/are protecting their investment. These wolves have now made their way to Eastern Oregon. It is a good program, so the ranchers can see the kids and "urban" folks who have concerns about killing wolves, and of course so the urban kids can see why the ranchers kill when they have to.

Many rural people hold on to the idea that city folks don't know what is going on in the real America, and they should keep their nose out of their business, and for the most part, I couldn't agree more. Ranchers and farmers usually best know the land, what it takes to work it, preserve it, and keep it viable for the next generation, while environmentalists try to implement changes that usually tend to have negative impacts to not only the environment, but all activity.

In that same light, rural folks don't really know what it takes to hack it in the city, yet whenever a city wants to implement laws that can and do protect the citizenry, like limiting gun carrying in city limits, those same rural folks throw a fit. People need to keep their nose out of other peoples' business, and when it comes to policy, rural folk need to keep their mouth shut about how cities and counties of populated areas prosecute gun and hate crimes, and urban people need to shut the fuck up about rural issues, agriculture, etc.... This would go a long way to creating understanding between these two diverse groups.