IThis past weekend we celebrated
my father’s 80th birthday at the Kerns Cow Camp on
the Dry Fork of Wyoming’s Big Horn National Forest.
My great-grandfather, James Wesley Kerns, acquired
this grazing allotment in 1906, sold it to my
grandfather in the ‘20s, who later sold it to my
father in 1966. The following year, Dad sold the
permit to a neighbor so as to partner on the new
Lake Creek allotment with his brother. In 2010, my
older brother, Dana, bought this allotment back from
the neighbor, so this small piece of history has
returned to the family. (This is redneck pasture
rotation.)
Like all mountain grazing allotments, the Dry Fork
has a colorful history. In 1932, the cook stove and
logs to build the cabin were hauled by team and
wagon from the homestead of my
great-great-grandfather, Tom Powers, on East Pass
Creek up to the mountains. During the steep descent
into the Dry Fork Canyon a wagon accident claimed
the life of one mule. I am not surprised given my
experience with wagon run-a-ways coupled with the
steepness of this canyon. (This is why Christians
make the best teamsters; they are not afraid of
dying.)
When I was ten, my father, uncle, cousins and
brothers ate lunch at this cabin enroute to
exploring our new grazing permit on Lake Creek. This
was day one of what became a three-day
reconnoitering nightmare pocked with starvation,
white-water river crossings and dysentery. My
brothers and I soon learned such things were normal
when astride a horse on the mountain and experiences
which did not kill us made us what we are today.
Here is my point: Like everyone else, God has
blessed my family. (If you do not think your family
is blessed, you are not looking hard enough.) We all
bring glory to Him by working tirelessly in whatever
task He lays before us, be it hauling logs in a
wagon, building a ranch, a veterinary practice,
shoveling concrete, building roads, working in a
refinery, battling in the legislature, or teaching
school. Jesus explains this in the parable of the
talents. (Mathew 25:14)
When President Obama claims an individual’s success
comes from the efforts of others and not from the
sweat of one’s brow he is advancing the primary
wealth redistribution tenet of Marxism. For the
government to steal the wealth earned by others the
populace must first be convinced the bounty came
from the sweat of the masses. Frighteningly, he
received a standing ovation and this is so wrong.
There are thousands of American families who are
successful solely because they worked harder,
smarter or took greater risk than those satisfied
with the status quo. You can believe happiness comes
as gifts from the ruling class, but it is a
miserable existence. True success comes in spite of
government, not because of it.
President Obama is so warped by Marxist propaganda
he is incapable of understanding what it truly means
to be an American. He and his progressive comrades
at every level of government must go. Between now
and November 6th we must all work to elect
candidates who will restore our great constitutional
republic. Do not expect your neighbor to step up and
make the difference. Our great restoration must
begin with you, because it will not begin with
anyone else.
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