I have always tried to be a bridge builder and peacemaker. Someone who believes in coming together to find solutions, not just for today, but for tomorrow. But there comes a time when silence becomes complicity, and that time is now. Our leaders have failed us.
We, here in Utah, live in the second driest state in the country. Water has always been precious here. We cannot manufacture more of it. And yet, here we are, development after development, concrete over farmland, inland ports being built near sensitive wildlife areas, housing that we cannot afford, and cars that choke our roadways. With all of this, our state moves forward under the delusion that we can grow forever with no consequences. This is not progress, this is erasure.
Erasure of the very things that make this place a wonderful place to live, erasure of our cultures, and erasure of our children’s futures.
When I look at the decisions being made by our elected officials, I see leaders who equate economic growth with success, no matter the cost to the land, water, or the people. They speak of prosperity, but for whom? Certainly not the average family who can no longer afford a home, and certainly not for our children who will be left with the aftermath.
We must stop treating the land as a commodity and start treating it as a relative.
We must demand that our leaders think beyond the next election, and start thinking about our future. If they cannot lead with that wisdom, then it might be time for new leadership. We all have a responsibility to protect what is sacred.
Water and land are sacred. Our children and our grandchildren’s future is sacred.
And right now, it is slipping through our fingers.
Darren Parry, Paradise
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