So Long…It’s Been A Good Ride
– By Lisa Rutherford –
In 2018 I began writing opinion pieces for the Southern Utah Independent News. I generally wrote about environmental issues such as the Lake Powell Pipeline project and the Northern Corridor highway. Fortunately, Mother Nature has taken care of the pipeline issue for the time being, and with the recent decision by the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to deny Utah’s Department of Transportation a right-of-way through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, the Northern Corridor has been put to rest but perhaps not for long with the new administration now in place.
Growth has been a focus of many of my articles, too, and in 2020, of course, covid was a hot topic: to mask or not to mask, what is freedom all about, etc. Then I started writing more about political issues like the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, climate change, ESG, DEI, debt, the Constitution, and our recent presidential election.
Our economic situation, particularly how our own behavior ties into that, was also a topic for my writing.
Personal issues such as the death of my mother in 2018, the influence of fathers, and women’s rights including abortion, also prompted me to write.
Now, the Southern Utah Independent has decided that opinion pieces do not fit their business model. So, I will no longer be sharing my thoughts with readers…perhaps a blessing in the minds of some readers. This makes me a bit sad, but I realize that the paper is in the business of making money, and if the space taken for articles such as mine can be better used to that end, so be it.
So, this is my final opinion piece, which the paper has graciously allowed me to submit. They will, however, still have my articles available to view online “somewhere.” In fact, if you Google my name, most of my articles come up under https://muckrack.com/lisa-rutherford/articles.
So, what are my final thoughts to share with readers? At this point, I am concerned, as are many others, about the changes I see underway and coming under the new Trump administration. I know that many people were thrilled about his victory but that was not reflected in viewership of his inauguration (24.6 million) which was lower than Biden’s (33.8 million) in 2017 according to Nielson’s ratings. Given those numbers, it’s clear that many November votes were cast more to show displeasure with Biden’s economy – as many voters interviewed stated – than pleasure at having Trump to watch and listen to again.
Already we see Trump throwing his weight, once again and as promised, against illegal immigrants no matter how much we need those immigrants to support our economy and keep the costs of goods and services from becoming even more expensive and driving up inflation. His rhetoric has taken all logic out of the issue and his supporters – as they generally do – will blame others if the economy goes haywire even when due to his actions.
Trump’s fear of having non-white immigrants displace whites in America – a fear stoked by his fear-mongering advisor Steven Miller – should be replaced by the acknowledgement that early Americans brought these people here unwillingly to do hard labor for them and helped to populate the country with them. They set the stage for our current situation.
His threat to stop those born in the United States from becoming American citizens is not even Constitutional according to the 14th Amendment. But I suppose it plays well to those who want to grab at any idea to stop immigrants who support our economy and help keep prices down through their hard work – work that most Americans won’t even do – from coming to our nation and then having children.
Trump is undoing good things such as turning his back on solving climate change by withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. All the while our nation suffers with overwhelming flooding due to massive storms and wildfires the result of climate change – no matter what one thinks is causing it. Citizens throughout the nation struggle under increasing insurance costs, the result of costs incurred due to those events. Now Trump wants to possibly dismantle FEMA and have individual states pick up the cost for solving these crises themselves, putting more burden on Americans. As a result of some of Trump comments, Republican members of congress are also talking about putting restrictions on aid money for California based on bad decisions by their governor – though unproven – relating to improper management of their water supply. What about the bad decisions concerning climate change made by Trump and these same congressional leaders that are contributing to these dire situations?
Trump is my main concern at this point but men – including podcaster Joe Rogan and Zuckerberg of Meta – whining about men’s diminished status in this country and not enough “male energy” infusing our society is enough to make one throw up hands in disgust. Not enough male energy? Give me a break. It’s everywhere I look! There are many, many ways in which women are still not equal to men, and there’s not enough time to go into that now.
In any case, as under the Biden administration, my financial portfolio looks good at this point! There’s always a silver (golden?) lining, right? Thanks for reading and good luck over these raucous four years and beyond!
Viewpoints and perspectives expressed throughout The Independent are those of the individual contributors. They do not necessarily reflect those held by the staff of The Independent or our advertising sponsors. Your comments, rebuttals, and contributions are welcome in accordance with our Terms of Service. Please be respectful and abide by our Community Rules. If you have privacy concerns you can view our Privacy Policy here. Thank you!
Click here to submit an article, guest opinion piece, or a Letter to the Editor
