Virgie Bell's View: This Land IS Our Land

I read in the paper yesterday where T. Boone Pickens gave an interview saying that the world oil supply has peaked. He said that oil would be $70 a barrel probably from here on in. This man who hails from Amarillo has been quoted as having been correct with his predictions much of the time. If anyone needs to have a better reason to understand why the petroleum industry plays such a vital role in the world they would do well to remember that the countries that are the biggest producers of oil are in the Middle East.

The Middle East is also a country of sand, more sand, and oil. They will be left with the sand when their oil reserves are depleted. The USA leads the world in technical knowledge and manufacturing. We have what our enemies who threaten us desperately need. Put simply, they need our country and its natural resources. If one will really look at the landscape of these Middle East countries, it’s easy to see why it is so vital to them. Will Rogers remarked once that a person should invest in land because we are never going to grow anymore. How true.

If one shops around to buy a little place to live and to raise a family, the wise investment would not be the Middle East. It would be right here in the United States if for no other reason than we are the new world. We are therefore fighting a war that has been waged from the beginning of time. The war for survival of the entire civilization. The best way to understanding that is exemplified in the little homesteads of the western states here in the land of the free and home of the brave.

Wagon trains carried the pioneers to this vast area and for each mile that was accomplished they paid a price of three lives lost for each mile. This was solely for land so they could build for themselves a future. You can say what you will about this being Indian country and what happened to the tribes of these first American citizens as a result of this great surge of population, but also remember that these wagon trains were equipped with settlers. They did not use the wagon trains to attack the Indians. They also did not plan on acquiring vast sums of land. They needed just enough that a family could build a log cabin and raise a garden and a few farm animals. A cow for milk, a horse for travel, a few chickens for eggs, etc. They dug down in the ground to find wells for water. Remember they started with just what they could carry on a wagon. The trails of this vast wilderness were littered with grandfather clocks, pianos, and other frivolous items. What they arrived with was the things that would ensure survival: hand tools, pots and pans, and seed to plant.

I am grateful to God that the little place Jerry and I have carved out for ourselves is a brick home with a lot and two pecan trees that shade the entire back yard. Our little heaven on earth suits us just fine. A place to grow old together. If you live long enough you value that more than anything. But take Hugo Chaves of Venezuela. He has taken over the oil from the companies that installed and paid the upkeep. He told the peasants of his country to go build a little lean-to shack on anyone's land, that it was rightfully their own. He never explained that it was rightfully his own, because he took it.

This is the beginning of the wars that have been fought until the last war finishes us off. This land was paid for by the sacrifice of our forefathers. Because of the blood that was shed by them to travel across a vast unknown ocean and to traverse this continent in order have a home to raise a family. In the end when you finally get to what really matters is that place to grow old together and to be buried side by side.

The United States is very much like our backyard. It is perfect for us and anyone else with realistic goals. So oil aside...and all the factories, farms and cities that have been built up over our country remains the reason these other countries seek to destroy us. They do not want to take away our western ways as they claim. They want my little lot with my modest home and my beautiful backyard. They want yours too. Our military is the only thing that stands in the way of the desperate dictators like Hugo Chaves and Ahmadinejad and all the others who have gone before. If we don't fight this fight we won't have to worry about those that come after. They will control this country. They will own the homes, the farms and the factories. They will control the cities and the wealth thereof. They will retire in my backyard and they will retire in yours too. The War on Terror is about survival. Mine and yours too. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Support the leaders of this country that SUPPORT THE TROOPS!