10-4 Magazine October 2024

The Veteran’s View: By Dennis Mitchell The Dog Days of Summer are now in our rearviewmirror and cooler weather is finally here. The primaries are over and the actual election is now upon us. I hope you had the opportunity to select the candidate of your choice and to make decisions for what you want in the future. Trucking has ground to a halt, our economy has gone to pieces, inflation is off the charts, and most of us are working when and where we can, trying to earn a decent living. I am at home today so the workload can be passed around and all of us owner operators can keep the doors of business open. Sure, there are still a few fortunate ones that have not been affected by the economic downturn, but they are the exception, not the norm. If there is to be any change in our lives or the hope of any opportunity in the future, it’s important each of us stop what we are doing and search out the available information on these political candidates. Not just the presidential candidates, but all your state and local ones, as well. I’ve waited to share this article with my readers because of its importance and I don’t want it to get lost in the smoke and mirrors of “live and let live!” I have been living the American dream, driving my life away, and loving the truckin’ lifestyle for almost five decades now. That’s 50 years for the folks who learned the “new” math! All of us who are paying attention have noticed the change in our industry. Not all change is bad, but the disregard for our freedoms and our American way of life is unacceptable. The regulations imposed by state and federal agencies have crippled our production, limited our innovation, and caused so many of our experienced personnel to leave the workforce. The requirements placed on tailpipe emissions alone have set us back generations. These new so called “advancements” in trucks has dumbed down the requirements for drivers and therefore placed all motorists at risk. The cost of sustaining oneself while on the road is not affordable any longer. I do not see the next generation of young drivers waiting to fill the seats of retiring ones. Ask yourself why? Could it be that they do not see any future or benefits, or is it just too difficult to keep up with the regulations. Yes, I remember the days of truckin’ before deregulation. Surprisingly, we were less regulated then than we are now! Ask yourself how many drivers used to make a good living running the west coast or the east coast and back to the heartland hauling our domestic products. These are the very things needed for a growing economy, fueled by the same people, who hoped to raise their standard of living. This next election is crucial to the future of our nation! Are we going to go down the road of Socialism, Marxism, or Communism, or are we to remain a free and proud nation filled with “We The People” – the greatest nation in all of recorded history? Voting is a privilege not afforded to all peoples around the world. It is, however, a right extended to every American citizen over the age of maturity (18 years) by our constitution. Notice I did not say all the people in America, but those who are legitimate citizens, and have not forfeited their rights due to legal implications. Some of us were fortunate enough to be born here and others have gone through the arduous process of legal emigration. This is a process that is very expensive and time consuming for those who follow the law. I sometimes believe these foreign born persons have more patriotic spirit than those who are gifted citizenship by birth right. Many of them know the harsh reality of Socialism and Marxism. The few that have escaped Communism’s grasp are the most vocal about what could happen if we allow the government to continue revoking and minimizing our movements. During the last election cycle, we were locked down unless you were deemed an essential worker. Thankfully, most of us drivers were classified that way – until they no longer needed us because they weren’t scared of food shortages or the lack of toilet paper. No longer do we see the banners floating from highway overpasses saying “We Love Truckers” and we are back to being locked out of buildings when we need restrooms. We can no longer access the loading docks or unload our own trucks. Why, you ask? Because you and me, the American drivers, are now considered the unclean masses. We still don’t have enough places to park at the end of our workday that are safe or secure. These are just a few of our troubles, but they could all be helped or eliminated with some government intervention. I’m not for more laws, but some of the restrictions placed on our industry during Covid have become more of a problem than they were supposed to solve, and it was the government who allowed this to happen, and will require the real forces of power to stop it. That power is held by the people, and we THE PEOPLE need to exercise it. Without getting into the weeds here, I will say the current election is the only way to turn this stuff around. We have government agencies designing and implementing regulations on industries they know nothing or very little about. Case in point, the secretary of transportation was nothing more than a small town mayor in Indiana. The closest he ever got to “transportation” was not fixing the potholes in his city. You ask, 46 10-4 Magazine / October 2024 EYES ON THE PRIZE!