05/28/2020
FREEDOM
"the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint."
I never understood the gravity of this photo until recently. I was reluctant to post this photo aside of my personal profile since it certainly isn't my favorite photo of me, but last night I was looking at the photo and noticed the word "FREEDOM" written so perfectly in the Kentucky Exhibition Center.
I'm not sure who the photographer was behind the lens, but I'm nearly certain they meant to captivate FREEDOM with this photo.
Until this year, I've never felt infringed upon the way I now. We're deemed unessential, so we're forced to shut down for over two months- running online orders only with zero help. When our state (Wisconsin) Supreme Court finally stepped in and said the order was unconstitutional, we were able to maintain business as usual, but have no events left to attend.
WE lost our FREEDOM to operate a business. We lost our FREEDOM to show.
Farmers are seeing record low prices and even being told not to bring livestock to market because there's no market for them. Farmers are euthanizing animals because their contracts with corporate packing plants say they have to. While farmers are going broke, our country is importing cheap food from other countries.
We lost our FREEDOM to raise food for America and market as we sit fit.
Youth all across America were raising animals for their projects to show at their county and state fairs that now have nowhere to go. We forget that the small processors that don't take on anymore customers for those months the animals come in, are now going to need to address open books that may be unfilled as Americans haven't been working and are simply low on funds for such a purchase. We forget the industry professionals that are ineligible for unemployment who have no work this year and may be permanently out of their profession. We forget the people who dedicate their lives to judging and teaching these youth exhibitors the core values in life that come with raising an animal for market. We also forget the breeders who we purchase our animals from who have to worry about next year, when youth have no money to buy next years' show pig or lamb.
We lost our FREEDOM to participate in what we feel passionate about.
Churches were closed, voting was interrupted, people are being criminalized for opening businesses and not wearing a mask, and we were told to all stay home. We were unable to purchase arms,
We lost the FREEDOM of religion, assembly, the rights to bear arms, and lost the FREEDOM to work and enjoy the civil liberties we were promised in the Bill of Rights.
I feel defied by our own government, insulted with applications for low interest loans and "programs" to help- all of which farmers and small businesses weren't approved for and the ones that were, ran out of money before we could receive any assistance anyway.
I feel sadness for the businesses who permanently closed after months of no business. I feel disappointed for the youth who dedicated their time to raising an animal for shows this year. I feel heartbroken for every farmer right now. I feel disrespected by others' who really believed the government was here to help us.
Most of all, I feel we as part of America's agriculture, are inferior to the rest of our population and our government. We're a number; easily controlled and stepped on.
FREEDOM in this great country means we have the right to go to church and choose our religion, assemble, bear arms, vote, go to work, express how we feel, and have access to the civil liberties this great country offers. This means we have the FREEDOM to show our livestock, attend a concert, farm our land, and run a business.
I want to express a huge thank you to for this photo. It was the reminder I needed through all of this, that we still have our FREEDOM and we need to stand through it all.
We're going to do something for the youth yet. We haven't decided what, but we have to do something.
