Have you noticed that every election in America now seems to be the “ most important ” in our lifetimes ? For those of us old enough to remember , this rhetoric began in 2000 , when the presidential race between Al Gore and George W . Bush came down to a single state ( Florida ) and a post-election decision by the U . S . Supreme Court that brought finality to the Bush victory .
In every presidential election since , Americans have heard time and again that this election is existential , that if the “ other ” side wins , America as we know it will simply end .
But is this actually true in 2024 ? Will America change forever depending on the outcome of this presidential election ? Or how the two chambers of Congress split ? Or , perhaps more importantly for sportsmen , which state legislators take a seat in their capitol ?
The answer , for those who cherish our outdoor traditions , is very clearly a full-throated yes , especially when it comes to the legislative branch in our respective states . But why ? Believe it or not , this yes has zero to do with one candidate being a Republican and the other a Democrat . If only it were that easy . It is actually more about recognizing the continued erosion of our hunting , fishing and trapping traditions while we , as a community , routinely fail to engage in the political process in ways that will stop the slide .
You know the old axiom : Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results . We all know this to be true , but what does it mean for all of us who hunt , fish and trap ?
Let me state this plainly : Sportsmen have steadily lost ground over the past few decades and the future is bleak because we do not , as a community , hold elected officials accountable on Election Day .
It really is that simple . Politics has one guiding principle that has been true since our founding . Elected officials want to keep their jobs , and if you are not part of that equation , you don ’ t matter . It ’ s how the system was built . Despite a lot of hand-waving about this or that , it ’ s nothing more , nothing less .
‘ Good ’ News vs . Reality For those who cannot or will not admit that our collective future is not a good one , I have no special sauce or flavor of Kool-Aid to offer . It ’ s very popular in modern America to deny reality , but that ’ s not what we do at the Sportsmen ’ s Alliance . We tell it like it is . And , in this case , if we don ’ t openly admit that the future of the American sportsman is in peril , then we cannot possibly make the changes needed to turn the tide .
To be clear , I am fully aware that a few organizations do a few things during election season . Those that actually make a difference on Election Day are not who I ’ m referring to , but such individuals and organizations know I ’ m not talking to them or about them . I ’ m talking about the rest of our community . And by this , I mean the vast majority of our community .
The success of our community when it comes to fish and wildlife management over the past century-plus is the envy of the entire world , and rightfully so . When it comes to conservation work , nobody can hold a candle to the United
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