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OPINION: The Case for Home Rule, Part Two |
Teddy Herzog | 4/29/08
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Read Part One
In the mid-1700’s, bands of rebels attempted to begin to free the American colonies from the oppression of the old regime of England. Many of the people living in the colonies could agree that the English Monarchy did not serve the people well. But, many people were afraid to try to rise up against the British throne. The majority of the people wanted to maintain the “security” of the existing poorly-functioning system and not “risk” creating a new future for themselves.
General George Washington and a rag-tag army practically starved to death in Valley Forge because “the people” were too complacent to contribute money to the revolution and were too afraid to take a stand against the old system.
 Today, we the people have allowed the fear of “terrorism” to be used as a justification to take away many of the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution. The Federal Government can now tap your phone and read your mail. Did you know that the President of the U.S. now claims to have the power to imprison indefinitely (without a trial) any person that he thinks is a “terrorist”? Did you know that the President of the U.S. now claims to have the power to torture any person that he thinks is a “terrorist”. These are “powers” that the King of England used to have over the colonists.
Because of fear, we have allowed our Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution to be taken away under the guise of “protecting democracy from terrorists”. In other words, “terrorism” has won the war in this country. Don’t let fear stop you from demanding your constitutional rights. Don’t let fear stop us from engaging in a Home Rule process to explore a new County charter.
The County Home Rule process is an opportunity for us to write our own County “constitution”. It is an opportunity for us to stop and think about who we are and what kind of a County government we want for ourselves going into the future.
The average person finding out about the Home Rule process has been, generally, very receptive and often excited about the possibility of the people creating their own County Home Rule charter.
The people who are opposed to Home Rule or who want to “put it off until later” are almost always people directly involved with the inner workings of the County government.
A new County Home Rule charter does not guarantee that things will get better at the County. That depends on how we write the Charter and how it is implemented.
Going through the process of writing a new County Home Rule charter does guarantee that there will be a lot of discussion about what a good County charter should look like. That means that we, the people, will need to come together to discuss it. That, in and of itself, will be a very good thing.
If you have a group to which you would like to have a presentation explaining County Home Rule — what is it and the process of writing it — then please call Teddy Herzog at 731-2587 or Beverly Warburton at 731-0343.
The Home Rule Committee will begin circulating a petition May 9 to place the Home Rule process question on the November ballot. Please call to find out where you can sign the petition and, if you wish, to help facilitate the process. |
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