In this week during which we have celebrated our Independence Day, I have pondered the attack on freedom and liberty. It's happening at every level of government - federal, state and local.
Our rights are not bestowed upon us by government. Our rights are bestowed upon us by the Divine.
We, the People, have created in this great nation - a limited government, BY the People, so that these precious rights may be protected.
We humans, with all our frailties, sometimes in an effort to do good, make mistakes. That is why we have checks and balances. We must remind each other of the precious value of liberty and help each other remember that the taking away of property or liberty from one to serve the needs or wants of another is not the first choice of a free society. It should be the last choice of a free people and guarded against with vigilance.
That said, let's OBJECT STRONGLY TO the curfew ordinance and the sidewalk cafe ordinance. There are plenty, PLENTY of laws already on the books to police any kind of trouble or crime that might arise in public places without limiting the freedom and liberty of the People.
On the issue of the sidewalk cafe ordinance, we already have the right to have sidewalk cafes. There is no prohibition against it. You must only make sure you do not violate the existing sidewalk laws which have a minimum width for passage. We have experienced over the last twelve months a smoke screen of words in which local officials who don't like the idea of sidewalk cafes have created the impression that sidewalk cafes are against the law. They are not. Just as these same local officials have created the impression that they have the right to tell us how high the flowers can grow and whether or not we can have a bench outside our home or business so people can take a load off and smell the roses.
I know that many who read this are as far from scofflaws as you can get and a few have even been unlawfully cited as violators and threatened with fines. We've fought against the smoke screen of words and found behind it - the truth. There are limitations on the powers of government. Thank heavens! Now let's be a responsible citizenry and teach our children and each other the true meaning of freedom and liberty and stand up and resist laws that punish and restrict a free people who have committed no crime.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
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1 comments:
i implore the good citizens of ligonier who feel these nit-picky little digs from council are out of control to attend council meeting thursday night....also please write a letter to council before meeting time to explain how you feel about laws being superfluously written to cover already in place statutes!
as my cousin said, when i voiced my utter disgust over certain folks who are trying to keep the tables and chairs off the sidewalks, "why would anyone want to keep the town from being conducive to guests and appreciating more sales? well, i guess any time you have folks looking at something that might be a change, even for the better, the first thing they say is "HEY! LETS MAKE SOME NEW LAWS TO GOVERN THAT!"
and the CURFEW???? when was the last time YOU walked down the street and were terrorized by local juveniles?? when was the last time that local juveniles made YOU feel so uncomfortable when they walked past your house that YOU had to hide in YOUR house and peer through the curtains until the little devils had walked on by??
come on council, give me a break!!
well, i for one intend to be at the meeting to see if indeed we are a democratic society here in ligonier, or if we have a few little kings still hanging' around!
will i see you there?
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