Augmented Post

Sometimes I have more to say:

There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty. - John Adams

Our quest for comfort and security have lead us to where we are.

I write this in an election year where the presidential ads are running free and loose. When you are in this situation make note - Liberty is never mentioned! Freedom might be mentioned but not liberty. What is the difference? Liberty applies to governmental restriction while freedom is the more general term. One may not be "free" to discuss a particular issue because of personal reasons or your attorney said you shouldn't. If you are not at "liberty to speak" that means some governmental body is forbidding your speech on the matter.


Why is "liberty" rarely, if ever, mentioned? Well folks, I'm sorry to say this, but we have lost a lot of our liberty. If you look at the local laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, you will find they are directed at restricting Liberty. They are never, or almost never, aimed at protecting individual liberty. They have been enacted in order to restrict actions by individuals. Restriction of actions of an individual is restricting the liberty of that individual. "But, but, but..." you say! We can't allow people to just go around doing as they damned well please! I say "Why not?" I may not like what they do, but if it does not infringe on what I do then let 'em go ahead.......they might not like what I do.


My neighbor is at liberty to build an ugly house - I will grant them that without question. I am (or should be) at liberty to raise pigs at the property line between us. Perhaps we can come to a neighborly agreement before it comes to that. Perhaps being a friend to my neighbors (and they to me) would be of mutual benefit. Perhaps we could think of ourselves as a "community" without the need for a governmental body making decisions on our behalf!


People are perfectly capable of thinking about what the neighbors and community think. The current problem is that we have created a governmental structure so that rather than thinking about what the community thinks, we think about whether it is "legal" or not. If the community doesn't like it (or those who make the decisions don't like it) then it is made illegal - a restriction on individual liberty. I defy anyone (and I mean anyone) to craft a resolution, law, ordinance or regulation which can't be circumvented in some way. Of course those who like going to meetings and like telling people what they can and cannot do count on this (subconsciously at least). Once a rule is in place and someone figures out how to get around it then the goal is not to get rid of the rule, but to "improve" it, or make it "fairer." 


A perfect example of this are the rules implemented to make influence pedaling less pervasive in the governing bodies. Have you ever heard anyone suggest perhaps if the legislators did not have the authority they do then there would be no need to try to influence them? Not until now I bet!



So what is to be done? First we all should learn to recognize or loss of liberty and when another jab at it is coming down the pike. Next we need to speak up. I don't mean yell - I mean to question and discuss. Question whether the establishment of a new rule or program is really a veiled restriction of individual liberty. Question, don't assume, that governmental solutions are needed. (Did you know Houston Texas has no zoning laws?) Then teach others about Liberty (especially your kids - they won't learn about it in school).



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