Ally Seablom

                                                Where Do We Draw the Line?

There was a time in our history where people respected the land on which they resided. Native Americans have always been able to harness the earth’s resources without abusing or overdeveloping them. They were careful not to disrupt the balance of nature or cause irreparable harm to the resources necessary to sustain their life and livelihoods. In direct contrast to the way the Native Americans treated our land, our government acts recklessly with no regard for how much of a negative impact its development has on nature or natural resources. Earth is viewed more as a resource that we abuse, rather than the source of our existence. Yes, Earth provides us with many useful tools that we are able to use in order to survive and prosper. If we abuse these resources by looking at short term goals instead of long term effects, then we are fueling our own destruction.

            The way our government has gone about building the Dakota Access Pipeline is, in my opinion, disgraceful. There has been no respect shown to the Native American Tribe living on Standing Rock. The companies building the pipeline have shown no remorse for bulldozing over sacred areas and disrupting the peace that is ever-present throughout their land. I question why someone who simply breaks into a cemetery faces severe consequences such as going to jail, however these people are being paid to build and place an oil pipeline on land where the Tribe’s members are buried. It is actions like this that make me wonder what it will take to make Americans see how we are disgracing the nature of our planet and rights of our people. Forcing me to ask the question: Where do we draw the line?