I have been listening to the debate, discussions, arguments and demands for safer and controlled four-wheeling in the Yukon.
I thought the original problem was the protection and preservation of the land.
I have a few concerns and, just for the record, I do not go four-wheeling in the bush as it is not something I enjoy.
However, I find myself wondering why a few people who have been here a few years, and I am sure some longtime Yukoners, are pushing so much of our freedoms away and doing their best to create a totalitarian society.
The questions I would ask are:
Â¥ Is having insurance going to make people more responsible in the bush?
Â¥ If I pay an insurance company lots of money, will I be more cautious riding in the bush?
Â¥ Or would it just promote lawsuits by people who don’t like four-wheelers?
Â¥ How is wearing a helmet going to make people more responsible in the bush?
Â¥ Do helmets have some sort of magic that make a wearer think of the land and drive more safely?
Â¥ Can we get these magic helmets for all occasions?
Â¥ If I wear a helmet and have insurance, will I then be more polite to others on the trails?
Â¥ Will the helmet make me kinder to the land while wearing it?
Â¥ Or does a helmet change nothing, except make my bank account is smaller?
People who abuse the land are not going to stop because they pay insurance or wear a helmet.
Why, once again, is everyone else going to pay the price for the few abusers who won’t change anyway?
Come on, people of the Yukon, stand up for your rights while you still have them.
Once gone they don’t come back. Don’t let the few rule the many.
Look after the land while enjoying it and don’t be pushed into becoming just another casualty of someone else’s idea of right.
Donna Widdis
Whitehorse