One of the foundations of modern civilization and the American Experiment is the ability and opportunity to own private property.
John Locke, the 17th century philosopher who inspired the Founders of our nation, asserted that the best government is that which preserves "life, liberty and property." He understood that citizenship and the "commonweal" of a healthy socieity were best ensured through personal responsibility for one's own domains.
From ancient Jewish writings we learn the same truth. The Book of Nehemiah details the urban renewal of Jerusalem. Each family was called upon to take care of their property and help rebuild the common walls and gates. Even though it was a community project, Nehemiah's appeals included personal stewardship of family-owned property.
History is the long, slow process of human liberation from ancient patterns of oppression and limited ownership of land. From the Magna Charta in 1215 that granted nobles some rights vis a vis the English monarchy to the US Consitution's protection from unlawful search and seizure, we have seen - at least in the West - an increase in the percentage of people able to own land. This percentage growth is concomitant with political freedom.
The 1620 Pilgrims briefly flirted with communal living, but quickly moved toward personal ownership, knowing that it led to the best care for the land and the community.
For over a century and a half, Marxism in all its nefarious forms has sought to change this arrangement under the guise of "the people" owning all land and the means of production. Marx and Engels rightly excoriated industrial and social abuses, but their cures have proven worse than the disease!
Fast forward to 2004. Under the guise of "Greenbelts" and "Eminent Domain" activists in multitudes of communities are literally robbing families of their legacies and livelihoods. The true stories I have heard just this week are the fodder for a dozen movies. The evil character in these scripts is not the cattle baron or the railroad magnate, but local and regional board members and government officials bent on fulfilling a chilling agenda.
There are two levels to this agenda. The public one is ecological balance and the preservation of open space in the midst of suburban sprawl. Sounds great...until you find out the unethical tactics and deeper plots. Families who have lovingly farmed and ranched land for generations are being forced to sell at fire sale prices or actually evicted for unproven minor infractions. One woman I spoke with has lost two properties due to new environmental regulations that turned a few puddles of water into a protected wetland! Of course, there is no compensation for her inability to develop her land.
The hidden agendas are frightful. One facet of the long-term plan is less private ownership and more government regulation and redistribution of wealth - socialism in any other terms. The other aspect of the deeper plot is the strategic aim of neo-pagan "deep ecologists" who want to untimately reduce the human population by half and restore Mother Earth to her pristine, pre-human condition.
These goals are self-destructive to our present freedom and future survival. Nearly two centuries of "enlightened" experiments have shown that socialism ultimately results in either bloated government agencies at best and totalitarianism at worst.
Who are the ones who decide what is best for us?
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Life, Liberty and Property
One of the foundations of modern civilization and the American Experiment is the ability and opportunity to own private property.
John Locke, the 17th century philosopher who inspired the Founders of our nation, asserted that the best government is that which preserves "life, liberty and property." He understood that citizenship and the "commonweal" of a healthy socieity were best ensured through personal responsibility for one's own domains.
From ancient Jewish writings we learn the same truth. The Book of Nehemiah details the urban renewal of Jerusalem. Each family was called upon to take care of their property and help rebuild the common walls and gates. Even though it was a community project, Nehemiah's appeals included personal stewardship of family-owned property.
History is the long, slow process of human liberation from ancient patterns of oppression and limited ownership of land. From the Magna Charta in 1215 that granted nobles some rights vis a vis the English monarchy to the US Constitution's protection from unlawful search and seizure, we have seen - at least in the West - an increase in the percentage of people able to own land. This percentage growth is concomitant with political freedom.
The 1620 Pilgrims briefly flirted with communal living, but quickly moved toward personal ownership, knowing that it led to the best care for the land and the community.
For over a century and a half, Marxism in all its nefarious forms has sought to change this arrangement under the guise of "the people" owning all land and the means of production. Marx and Engels rightly excoriated industrial and social abuses, but their cures have proven worse than the disease!
Fast forward to 2004. Under the guise of "Greenbelts" and "Eminent Domain" activists in multitudes of communities are literally robbing families of their legacies and livelihoods. The true stories I have heard just this week are the fodder for a dozen movies. The evil character in these scripts is not the cattle baron or the railroad magnate, but local and regional board members and government officials bent on fulfilling a chilling agenda.
There are two levels to this agenda. The public one is ecological balance and the preservation of open space in the midst of suburban sprawl. Sounds great...until you find out the unethical tactics and deeper plots. Families who have lovingly farmed and ranched land for generations are being forced to sell at fire sale prices or actually evicted for unproven minor infractions. One woman I spoke with has lost two properties due to new environmental regulations that turned a few puddles of water into a protected wetland! Of course, there is no compensation for her inability to develop her land.
The hidden agendas are frightful. One facet of the long-term plan is less private ownership and more government regulation and redistribution of wealth - socialism in any other terms. The other aspect of the deeper plot is the strategic aim of neo-pagan "deep ecologists" who want to untimately reduce the human population by half and restore Mother Earth to her pristine, pre-human condition.
These goals are self-destructive to our present freedom and future survival. Nearly two centuries of "enlightened" experiments have shown that socialism ultimately results in either bloated government agencies at best and totalitarianism at worst.
Who are the ones who decide what is best for us?
John Locke, the 17th century philosopher who inspired the Founders of our nation, asserted that the best government is that which preserves "life, liberty and property." He understood that citizenship and the "commonweal" of a healthy socieity were best ensured through personal responsibility for one's own domains.
From ancient Jewish writings we learn the same truth. The Book of Nehemiah details the urban renewal of Jerusalem. Each family was called upon to take care of their property and help rebuild the common walls and gates. Even though it was a community project, Nehemiah's appeals included personal stewardship of family-owned property.
History is the long, slow process of human liberation from ancient patterns of oppression and limited ownership of land. From the Magna Charta in 1215 that granted nobles some rights vis a vis the English monarchy to the US Constitution's protection from unlawful search and seizure, we have seen - at least in the West - an increase in the percentage of people able to own land. This percentage growth is concomitant with political freedom.
The 1620 Pilgrims briefly flirted with communal living, but quickly moved toward personal ownership, knowing that it led to the best care for the land and the community.
For over a century and a half, Marxism in all its nefarious forms has sought to change this arrangement under the guise of "the people" owning all land and the means of production. Marx and Engels rightly excoriated industrial and social abuses, but their cures have proven worse than the disease!
Fast forward to 2004. Under the guise of "Greenbelts" and "Eminent Domain" activists in multitudes of communities are literally robbing families of their legacies and livelihoods. The true stories I have heard just this week are the fodder for a dozen movies. The evil character in these scripts is not the cattle baron or the railroad magnate, but local and regional board members and government officials bent on fulfilling a chilling agenda.
There are two levels to this agenda. The public one is ecological balance and the preservation of open space in the midst of suburban sprawl. Sounds great...until you find out the unethical tactics and deeper plots. Families who have lovingly farmed and ranched land for generations are being forced to sell at fire sale prices or actually evicted for unproven minor infractions. One woman I spoke with has lost two properties due to new environmental regulations that turned a few puddles of water into a protected wetland! Of course, there is no compensation for her inability to develop her land.
The hidden agendas are frightful. One facet of the long-term plan is less private ownership and more government regulation and redistribution of wealth - socialism in any other terms. The other aspect of the deeper plot is the strategic aim of neo-pagan "deep ecologists" who want to untimately reduce the human population by half and restore Mother Earth to her pristine, pre-human condition.
These goals are self-destructive to our present freedom and future survival. Nearly two centuries of "enlightened" experiments have shown that socialism ultimately results in either bloated government agencies at best and totalitarianism at worst.
Who are the ones who decide what is best for us?
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