Peace or Pieces?

Driving out in the country gives me a sense of peace. The green fields of agriculture are getting fewer and fewer in "my neck of the woods". I love to see the flocks of birds grazing in the field. I love to see a rabbit scamper across the lane. I enjoy watching the farmers plow the ground with their tractors.

One of the routes I can choose from my house to my place of employment, involves passing a dairy. The cows seem to nonchalantly swish their tails, oblvious to the passers-by. The scent in the air, however, makes it nearly impossible to pass by them without noticing their existence. I even enjoy that. It reminds me that there are still hard-working American farmers willing to live among these beasts to give us necessary products. There are many "shacks" lined up along this dairy. I doubt that I would be comfortable living in one. While the actual farmer may live elsewhere quite nicely, (I do not know) others are making sacrifices to keep the milk flowing.

Down the street just a mile or two was a field once sporting a variety of crops. I have seen it covered in alfalfa, cotton, and some type of vegetables. Then it hosted sheep. Now there is a sign saying a shopping center is taking applications for space in the soon-to-be strip mall. Another sign states that part of the field is destined to become a neighborhood park. Both those signs have been there a long time, even while the sheep and cotton claimed possession. But now, there is no cotton, sheep, or alfalfa. There are still some birds, and perhaps, a rabbit family or two. Most likely, there are lizards and possibly some snakes calling it home for now, along with various insects!

It makes me sad. Losing agriculture land for commerce when the economy cannot even sustain much of the shops we have. Yesterday, the police department laid off 100 officers. And the city is closing libraries and parks. Makes me feel like my world is falling to pieces. Could it be that we have sacrificed the peace of our culture for pieces of land to make someone wealthier?

Give me the birds and the rabbits! I'll take the alfalfa and cotton! I appreciate the cows and and the sheep! Please save our countryside! Let us live in peace!