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Thursday, March 04, 2004
Choice and Tyranny of the Majority:
Choice should be the focus of every individual in America (religion, school, property, social security, etc.) There is a clear disconnect by the two political parties from the public as a whole, in that the parties have chosen specific issues which they deem worthy of allowing "choice" to individuals, yet they hypocritically violate the same ideals when the choice does not suit them.
An individual should not live in fear that a "group" will make choices for them. This means that, as an individual, I should not fear a town council raising the mill rate by 10% in the name of socializing school-age children. Similarly, I should not fear that a government might outlaw my choice to be in a same sex relationship, if I so choose. This axiom should apply to all forms of choice.
Now comes the Connecticut State Supreme Court ruling that has extended the law of eminent domain to private development. Thus, if a developer can convince a town that its proposal will increase the tax base, and/or employment in the town, any property that is needed for such a venture can be seized. This is a clear violation of the principal of individuality. No government, be they local, state, or federal, should have the right to decide what I do with my own land, as long as the use in question does not violate the rights of others.
Confiscating property in order to increase the local tax base might be good for the town coffers, but it is a violation of individual rights.
This philosophy is yet another illustration of the trend toward group identity rather than individual identity, creating a perceived dependence on government (read: "we know what is better for our constituents than they do"). Ironically, it is easy for groups of individuals to ignore this confiscatory practice until it happens to one of them. Slowly, individual rights to choose how to live their own lives are eroding in this country.
It would behoove every American citizen to support all rights to individuality, even if they do not support the choice. In other words, you may abhor gay marriage or abortion. You may find public displays of religion, or questionable art offensive. Aside from forcing federal funding of such things (which is a clear violation of principles of choice, in that there is no mechanism for dictating how one's tax dollars are allocated), the prudent thing to do is to respect the individual right of others to make substantive decisions for themselves. This should include, among other things, private property rights and land use. Once an individual's sovereignty over their property is taken away, the slippery slope toward tyrannical rule cannot be far behind.Labels: Archives_2004
.: posted by
Dave
11:33 AM
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