Lens Of Liberty

A student in Georgia complained that tests and grades were stressful, so the professor adopted a new “stress reduction policy.” Students who feel stressed about tests can decide their own grades. In they feel any stress, they are welcome to leave without explanation and with no effect on their grade. A stress-free environment may sound good, but life is not stress-free. A look through the Lens of Liberty reveals the vital importance of stress, and risk, and how to handle them. Our American system limits the power of government, because we believe ordinary people can govern themselves. But they cannot do so unless they learn how to take responsibility for their own actions. If you want a stress-free life, you need a binky and a stroller, with someone else deciding where you go.

We often see giant balloons advertising car dealers, or special promotions at the mall. In Houston, local leaders decided there were too many balloons. They passed a law allowing the balloons only for car dealers – not for any other business. But other business owners looked through the Lens of Liberty, and told the City it had no businesses picking winners and losers. Citizens reminded officials that equal treatment under the law is America’s first principle. The City still didn’t get it – instead of choosing freedom, they responded by banning all balloons in Houston. Many government officials simply cannot think outside the confines of government rules. That’s why citizens themselves must be the ultimate defenders of freedom, and pop this balloon!

A California man wanted to plant wheat in a field where previous owners had always grown wheat. So he began plowing, but government agents swooped in, declared his field a wetland, and took him to court. They claimed the furrows in his field were small mountains that resulted in discharging water, without a federal permit. Instead of looking through the Lens of Liberty, federal judges sided with the government, and sought to impose $45 million in fines. The farmer was forced to settle the case, and ultimately paid over $1 million in fines – even though federal wetlands laws supposedly exempt agricultural practices, including plowing. Needless to say, the field never got planted, and no wheat grows there now. Perhaps those bureaucrats and judges think food just magically appears in grocery stores.

My grandchildren got involved in an effort to discourage texting while driving, and their campaign attracted enough attention to be quite effective in their community. But in Washington State and other places, governments are moving well beyond awareness efforts, and making certain driving habits a crime. You can’t even talk on hands-free devices, unless you can activate them with the "minimal use of a finger." They are about to adopt similar criminal penalties for “distracted walking.” Freedom-loving citizens ought to look through the Lens of Liberty, and think about how many rules now govern everyaspect of their lives. Community awareness efforts, like my grandchildren’s, make people aware of potential danger, without sending them to jail. We may be so distracted by all these little rules, that we forget the important ones.