Take me to the river

The most common territory dispute

Fighting over territory is a part of human interaction. Initially developed when we were hunter-gatherers, now most people experience territorial conflicts early in life, in the automotive setting. Children learn to defend, by any means, their side of the back seat. In this spirit, a border dispute has erupted between Ohio and Kentucky. If you’ve ever looked at a map of the United States, you may be asking yourself, “How is this possible? There’s a huge river between them. Shouldn’t it be obvious where the border is?”

According to the Times a rock that was once in the Ohio River is the disputed territory. People would carve their initials on this rock when the river was low enough. It got the name “Indian Head Rock” because nobody knew who carved a crappy smiley face on it so it must have been an Indian. An Ohioan historian brought it ashore recently, which set off a controversy that has everyone from grade school children to state legislators furious. According to the Times article, “High school seniors are being asked to write position papers on the following: “Why the rock should be Ohio’s and not Kentucky’s.” Reginald Meeks, a Kentucky state representative has different ideas. Meeks stood strongly for Kentucky’s rights, sponsoring a resolution calling for the return of the rock to Kentucky so that the people of Kentucky will inherit it for generations. You know thing’s are going well in our country when our educational system is so efficient that fourth graders tackle the same issues as elected officials.

I am neither an elected official nor a fourth grader, but I have an opinion on this matter. The rock should stay with the historian who raised it from the river bed. I don’t see why Meeks or Kentucky would have any claim to this rock. They didn’t do anything about it. If you raise a huge rock from the bottom of a river it should be yours. And I can tell you right now that the face wasn’t carved by an Indian. An expertise in Native American rock carvings isn’t even necessary. Just use your brain.