A lot of people talk about our independence as if it is something secure, something we can count on being there forever. We can't. If we don't stick up for our freedoms, they can be eroded away until nothing is left.
You think it can't happen? It is happening right now. Take the case of Maryanne Godboldo from Detroit, MI whose daughter was kidnapped by the government because she refused to pump her full of drugs that were making her sicker. Look at all the areas where you can't legally collect your own rainwater (although apparently this is improving in a lot of places, thanks to people challenging the laws). Look at Julie Bass of Oak Park, MI who is currently facing misdemeanor charges for growing food in her own front yard, since they claim it violates the city's ordinance that front yards must contain "suitable plant material".
These are all freedoms that are being stolen, bit by bit. There are literally millions of examples that I could cite of freedoms disappearing daily. I just list these ones because they directly affect our pocketbooks as well as our freedom.
It is our patriotic duty as Americans to do something about this.
Write letters to officials and politicians responsible for making these laws. Actively campaign for or at least vote for politicians that support our freedoms. Vote out the ones that don't. Support things like the Right to Garden legislation I proposed a couple posts ago to protect our rights and make it harder for them to sneak them away.
So what am I doing this Independence Day? Having a cook-out with my family here at the Trailer Park Homestead, going to see a nice small town parade, watching some fireworks....and getting a dictionary ready to mail to the city planner of Oak Park, since apparently he doesn't know what the definition of "suitable" is (hint: he thinks it means "common").
If anyone else would like to send photos of front yard vegetable gardens, to demonstrate how suitable vegetables are for front yard plant materials, or dictionaries to the city planner of Oak Park, so they can look up the definition of "suitable", the address is:
Kevin Rulkowski, City Planner
City of Oak Park
13600 Oak Park Blvd
Oak Park, MI 48237
Great post! I'm going to start planting some stuff in my front yard in support.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post and oh so true. Our freedoms are slowly being taken away. People are blind if they don't see it happening.
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a lovely holiday.
FlowerLady
It was crazy. Everyone said so. We were 15 miles from anywhere, really. There was a small community (of snobs)a few miles away, but no gas station, no hospital, no police station... it was a community of houses, a small convenience store, a sandwich shop, a few other mini-mall businesses, and the two schools, grade school and middle school.
ReplyDeleteOUR home was not acceptable, by most people's standards. Our home was a travel trailer on 5 acres of land. We ran a generator for power, until we negotiated with the neighbor to tap into his line and pay half the bill. The electric company would not supply us with power without paying for a new pole and their fees. So we did what we had to do.
Another neighbor, also in a trailer, lived about 1-1/2 miles away. She got into a spat with our neighbor, and reported everyone in the valley to the county. So we were visited by Code Enforcement.
They gave us a specified amount of time to vacate the property, our property, because we violated housing codes. We argued with them. We told them we owned this piece of land and were not going to be thrown off of it. They sent out notices. We filed for extensions. After six months of batting the ball with them, Code Enforcement threatened to have the sheriff remove us. My husband, being resourceful, had a chat with his friend, the real estate broker we were making payments to on our land.
Our real estate broker friend said he had about 40 other lots in that area. He would allow us to move onto one of the other lots temporarily, until the county was satisfied they had removed us. So my husband relayed this to the Code Enforcement officer. "If you want to play this game," he said, "we will move onto another lot. We have about 40 we can move to. Then you'll have to start this whole process all over. If that's what you want, go ahead, bring it on. Otherwise, drop it. We're not bothering anyone."
We got a notice a few weeks later, that the case had been dismissed.