There are literally too many things to worry about these days. Some of us choose to “turn it off and tune it out.” We rationalize that we already have all the problems we can handle and, after all, God is in control. But ignoring a problem, leaving it to others, or pretending it doesn’t exist does not make it go away. Problems left unsolved seldom resolve themselves.
The Congress is spending our children and grandchildren into financial servitude to the state and foreign governments. President Obama is flitting around the world in Air Force One and making financial commitments to foreign countries as if the federal money pit has no bottom.
Cap and Tax legislation based on the pseudo-science of Al Gore and leftist radicals who have taken over the environmental movement from well-intended conservationists is pending votes in Congress and if it becomes law will result in higher taxes and will greatly increase the cost of virtually everything we use or consume and will eventually spell the end to the free enterprise system that has given Americans the highest standard of living known to man – except for the elite dictatorships kept in power by guns, bayonets and control of the necessities of life for their subjects.
The administration of President Obama, in power less than a year, is systematically taking over the financial, educational, informational and manufacturing elements of our country and is exerting an all-out effort to control individual health services and medication from Washington, DC.
At the same time, the United States has armed forces engaged in two wars half-way around the world in Iraq and Afghanistan. Americans are being killed and wounded in combat on a daily basis without a clear mission or adequate support from the Congress, Commander in Chief and the American people. President Obama has taken no action on a critical troop request from his commander in Afghanistan that has been on his desk for four months. His inaction appears to be intentional, is having a negative impact on troop morale and is unprecedented in American military history.
We recently experienced the largest terrorist attack on our homeland and military personnel since the attacks of Nine-Eleven. As individuals in Greenville, South Carolina, we spend a lot of time discussing and writing about these events, however, in the scheme of things we can do very little to impact those events except on Election Day.
Furthermore, while we are spreading ink and ratcheting our jaws debating the events on the national scene and world stage, important events closer home that we could control are sometimes neglected.
A case in point is the Greenville County land use plan that was given a second reading by County Council, Tuesday night, after a public hearing that was poorly advertised and unheard of by much of the general public.
The principal advocate for the land use plan is Upstate Forever, a well-organized, primarily grant funded environmental activist organization directed by Greenville Attorney Brad Wyche that has been involved in every phase and aspect of the planning process.
The Greenville County Taxpayers Association, a loosely organized grass roots organization led by Robert G. “Butch” Taylor is representing the interest of county property owners and their constitutionally protected rights to own and utilize private property without undue government or non-government organization (NGO) interference and mandates.
This comprehensive land use plan has the potential to regulate every aspect of the lives of Greenville County citizens. Tragically, very few citizens other than readers of The Times Examiner and members of the Taxpayers Association are aware of the potential danger to property rights and individual freedom contained in the draft plan that upon approval by a vote of 7 or more of the 12 members of Greenville County Council on Third Reading will become county policy.
Distracted by national and international events, we ignore important local issues and can lose our God-given constitutionally guaranteed freedom by default.
