The Conservative View: Horses and Sore Lips

This week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner Russell Turner (R-Stilwell).

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

Horses and Sore Lips

Having being raised on a farm in rural Oklahoma I have had many experiences that are alien to most people. Very few people today have ever watched a person put horse shoes on a horse. Many times a young horse is reluctant to stand still for the person to put the shoes on. To solve the problem, I have seen the person putting on the shoes take a short piece of cord and twist it around the horse’s lip. The old timers call this procedure putting a twitch on the horse’s lip. While this may seem cruel, it causes the horse to think about something else instead of being shod. The key goal is to get the horse’s attention away from the person doing the work, without the little piece of cord the worker would run the risk of being kicked or injured. This little analogy reminds me of the events that are taking place in our nation’s capital.

The president and the leaders of the US house and Senate are, for the lack of a better term, ‘hell bent for leather’ to push the health care bill through congress and have the president sign it into law. From the polling data that I have seen, the American people are not supporting this legislation. The tactics being used to get the necessary voters for passage range from strong arming to bribery. To distract the American people from the danger that this legislation would cause our nation, money is promised to congressmen that they can take back to their home district and use on pet projects. Sadly many American people cannot distinguish the difference between something free and freedom. We humans have a tendency to lose all common sense when we think that we are going to get something for nothing. ObamaCare will not make health care more affordable and accessible to all Americans. It will only increase the size and scope of government. Government will have more power over our lives and we will have less and less freedom.

Maybe the leaders in congress and the president feel that they are doing this for our own good and we average people need to take the bitter medicine like the horse being shod. I believe that there is a huge difference in a human and a horse. A horse is a dumb animal that is bred to serve humans, we humans on the other hand are meant to be free and not to serve other men or some government. Our elected leaders are acting like an uncooperative horse, maybe it is time for a twitch on their lip.

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, email him at rdrepublican@windstream.net.