I simply disagree with the negative assessment of people as “non-thinking” because they don’t understand land issues relating to water and livestock in the western USA. I think the label has a derogatory overtone that I don’t feel is warranted.
I know a lot of very intelligent, hardworking and successful, and conservative people who, if you had asked them to describe this issue of federally owned land (prior to this issue arising) they would have likely said something to the effect of “I really don’t know. I have never had reason to pay attention to it.”
I can’t fault people for that. In this world, there are a huge number of issues dealing with nearly every subject under the sun.
I have a variable working knowledge of a wide variety of issues ranging from military doctrine and culture, medicine, science and aviation to various aspects of politics, history, automotive mechanics and any number of things, but I don’t doubt for a single second that there are a massive number of issues out there that are hugely important to people who are directly affected by them, but of which I have little to no knowledge.
I have to be honest. If someone discussed some aspect of legal workings and asked my opinion on it, I might be able to comment on violent crime and the judicial system, but I would be clueless on more things than I even have the capacity to imagine.
Does that make me a “non-thinking” person? Now, if I had become embroiled in some kind of legal property rights issue and it had been dragging out for my whole life and my father’s life, and I had gone to town meetings and discussed these things in depth with neighbors, then I have no doubt I would have a handle on it.
But for me to know about grazing rights in the western states...well, it just isn’t important to me, in the way beach erosion wouldn’t really have any bearing or interest to someone from Omaha.
That’s all I was referring to.
Sorry, you keep missing the big picture. This has nothing to do with the bureaucratic details of land and livestock issues. You so so so so so miss the bigger point, which is WTF is the government doing with 28% ownership of the US lands in the first place, and why does some former Reid functionary have his own damned private army at his disposal???
If you can’t see that, then you too are in my class of “non thinking” people. So think about that.