Don’t treat Cliven Bundy and friends as heroes

As I opened the Dec. 24 Review Journal, there was another featured article about the Bundys. Since 1993, Cliven Bundy has refused to pay grazing fees for his cattle as a protest against the BLM for restricting the grazing density to try to protect the desert tortoise. So this whole case goes back to a refusal to pay for the right to rent and use land owned by us American citizens.

Apparently, the media are bent on turning the Bundys into folk heroes for promoting a “cause” of preserving the American West. Simply stated, they owe the American people more than $1 million. They should be referenced by the media as being accused of stealing from the American people like common thieves not heroes.

I do not condone the use of force by individuals against individuals or agencies against individuals. But the real reason for the whole feeding frenzy is pretty much black and white. If you or I want to use property to which we do not hold a deed, we are obligated to pay for its use, or we would be nothing more than a common thief, just like Cliven Bundy.

The outcome of this trial — if one ever reaches a verdict, win or lose — hinges on whether Cliven Bundy owes for using public land for his own financial benefit. This basic starting point has been so far removed from this case that someone reading a local Kansas City paper would likely have no idea how this whole fiasco started.