America, The Beautiful
As I write this to submit before my publication deadline, we are just three days out from the 2024 election. In just a few short days, we will have a better idea of the direction the country is headed.
It feels like the entire country, on both sides of the aisle, is waiting and holding their breath, uncertain of the outcome and just anxious to know the results so we can get back to living and doing what’s best for our families in this next season.
I had a dear friend and mentor tell me the other day, “No matter the outcome, I don’t place my stock or my life on who is in charge in Washington, D.C. I will charge forward like I always have, building my businesses, raising my kids, and living my life by following Christ.”
It was a poignant statement, one based not on the fear of the present moment, but of confidence in something greater, and a willingness to fight for it, no matter what external threats or challenges may come our way.
Politically, I’ve been heavily embattled in my home state of South Dakota, fighting a referendum that if passed would trample on our God-given, Constitutionally-protected private property rights and strip away the authority of local control and governance by our counties and townships, and consolidate it all to just three officials a the state level — all to push a Green New Deal carbon pipeline project through.
In this fight, I’ve stood alongside friends and neighbors, farmers and ranchers, parents and grandparents, community members and small business owners, to stand up for what is right. I’m proud of the work that has been done. I’m inspired by how big the movement has become. I’m in awe of how unifying it has been in bringing so many great patriots together. And I’m confident that we are just beginning our fight, as we get stronger by the day.
Someone asked me in an interview, “Amanda, what happens if you lose?”
I’m reminded of the quote, “You only lose if you quit,” and I know that our grassroots, citizen-led effort to fight for the future of agriculture and family farms and ranches won’t stop, won’t bend, and won’t quit.
Because the cost of quitting would mean the devastating loss that our private property is not our own, and we are just sitting ducks waiting for the next out-of-state corporation to come into the state and paint their business model as “value-added agriculture” and “economic development” under the guise of “public-private partnerships.”
But the people are awake now — and they can see the board fully. Politicians can wrap their pet projects with a pretty bow, and call it a “landowner bill of rights,” or whatever other fancy title they can think of, but we the people can see the truth.
The truth is that government is best when limited in size and scope. The truth is that the citizens, not the politicians, should be driving the economic development and business growth in our state.
The truth is that the government has utterly failed in making sure families stay on the land, farming and ranching, because we are fewer in numbers with each passing year.
The truth is that no matter who wins the election or what is passed on the ballot, we the people get the government we deserve. We are led by the people who show up. Our Constitution is only as good as the paper it is written on. And if we want to see meaningful change that reflects the society and the America we want to live in, then it is us that will need to be the change-makers.
As for me and my family — we will continue to live by our faith, our love of family, in service to our neighbor, and our community. We will fight for family farms and ranches, no matter what that fight evolves and shapes in to. And we will think, not in the short-term like so many politicians do, but in the long-term like multi-generational agricultural families do. We will plant the seeds, pull the weeds, and pray for a bountiful harvest. Because that’s who we are, and that’s what we do.
And America, this beautiful nation that we love and hold dear, will be led by the men and women who are fearless and brave and bold enough to get off the bench and say, “If it is to be, it is up to me.”
My simple ask to you is this — now that the election is over, what are you going to do in the next four years to strengthen this country and have it reflect the vision our Founding Fathers had in mind in 1776?
May God bless this great nation — America, land that I love.