[Newspoetry] Christmas 2002

[Anne Bargar]

Dear Editor,
	We here at the Bison Committee for Cultural Affairs would like to
express our collective sadness that Newspoetry is nearing its end.  This
is the only outlet for the Bison perspective that we know of, be it
Fermented, Deployed, Reticulated, or Detached.  We have tried to express
our views, and have our voices heard, through other means, to no avail;
other dailies seem to think we are a joke, made up by drunk college
students or crazed environmentalists.   This is simply another attempt by
modern humans to marginalize viewpoints they simply do not have the
foresight to understand.
	We have been watching you for many thousands of years and, for a
long time, things were fine.  Some of us got killed, but we are, after
all, a prey animal.  We accept this as a condition of our existence.
However, after Europeans arrived, everything changed for the worse for us,
every other species, Native Americans, and wide open spaces.  What shocks
us still is the out-and-out disregard that you have shown Native
Americans; they are, after all, people.  There have been folks who have
persevered in preserving or reestablishing part of our rangeland; the
Native Americans have yet to be shown this courtesy.  It is morally
reprehensible to treat an "animal" better than a member of your own
species.
	That aside, we have to admit that we, as a community, simply don't
get you.  You confuse us.  You have, alone among species, the ability to
behave in a fashion that is out of sync with your environment.  That does
not make it advisable to do so.  There is no moral directive to build
large monuments to your abilities, to destroy things simply for profit.
Admittedly, we do not understand what profit is, or why it is so
desirable.  No Bison has any more grass than any other Bison.  There is
only a certain amount of forage that we can consume in a day, so what
would be the point in hording it?
	That said, we are asking you, as a species, to immediately cease
and desist in your destructive activities.  You have no right to destroy
the world you evolved in.  Listen to those among you who wish to see a
more sustainable world; they have sense.  Otherwise, you are likely to
destroy everything, yourselves included.  We have concluded that your
species has suicidal tendencies; we do not, and we have no desire to go
with you.  
	We hope this stern talking-to is beneficial.  Once again, we thank
you, Newspoetry, for having given us this voice over the last few years.
We shall continue to seek other venues for our opinions, but this is one
we shall certainly miss.

					Farewell, 

					The South Dakota Bison Committee
					for Reticulated, Detached, Fermented, 
					and Deployed Cultural Affairs