Democracy isn’t a spectator sport

One of the best speakers I’ve heard in a long time was yesterday at the Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan meeting in Saskatoon. While FACS is dedicated to responsible farm animal care, the closing speaker at their conference was Bruce Vincent, a third generation logger from Montana, who is now a professional speaker. Vincent says both logging and agriculture are resource based industries being affected by well-meaning urbanites who subscribe to the Walt Disney nature utopia. He says social movements have turned into industries. It has become a big business to sell environmental fear. His advice for agriculture is that the general public wants to hear a message of hope for the planet and agriculture is the safest and most productive it has ever been. The enemy, says Vincent, isn’t the general public. The enemy is ignorance. We need to tell our story. We need to build bridges. If we aren’t at the table, well-meaning urbanites are going to protect us and the environment to death. Vincent presents three truths which are worth pondering. One: democracy works, but it’s not a spectator sport. Two: when people lead, leaders follow. And three: the world is run by the people who show up. I’m Kevin Hursh.