(Note: This one is a real gem, one to reread and savor for its wry wit and succinct honesty. Bravo, Ed Clark!)

August 4, 2003

By Ed Clark

ESCMC@aol.com

Excerpted by permission of the Brevard Insider

To submit a Letter to the Editor: ESCMC@aol.com

The idea of mob rule over unused land parcels is catching fire.

Never mind that it is about as un-American as you can get.

Forget that in the final analysis, it is probably a violation of the U. S. Constitution.

And disregard the fact that moral people do not covet their neighbor's wallet.

Considering the passing of the Pregnant Pig amendment, thinking people would be well served to take this populist move seriously.

Ask Joe Six-pack on the street corner, "Would you like for that vacant lot to remain unbuilt on?" he'll say, "Heck, yeah! My kids play there."

What Joe chooses to ignore is that he doesn't own that land any more than the lot owner owns Joe's house.

Wonder how he would like it if the lot owner moved into his back bedroom.

Ask Mrs. Six-pack, "Are you tired of the congestion in stores and streets?"

And she'll likely say, "Shouldn't the government do something about that?"

And she is right, to an extent. It is the duty of government to build adequate roads, schools, and fire stations and to serve the citizens.

And ask most any old body, "Don't you think Florida has too many people in it?" And get the answer: "I came here in 1996, and it was a nice little town. Now, look at it. Darned newcomers are taking over."

Any old body has forgotten that they were, not long ago, one of those newcomers.

Wonder how he or she would have felt if they had been stopped at the state line, and asked, "Do you have a permit to enter the State of Florida, or to buy a house?"

Nothing new about the average Joe thinking like that.

For that matter, the old Florida towns were filled with that sentiment.

It's called provincialism.

I sometimes wonder when it happened -- when the average American reached the point of wanting to deny to fellow Americans the rights that he himself holds so dear.

The right to move, and find housing.

The right to buy his little slice of paradise, and build a home on it.

The right to his own castle, without asking his neighbors if he can build there.

Mike Thomas, entertaining columnist for The Orlando Sentinel, claims that he chronicled the death of Florida when he wrote stories about development.

"If it wasn't the manatees, sea turtles or seaside sparrows getting wiped out, it was the swamp getting plowed over, the forest getting chopped down or the lagoon getting a sewage/stormwater cocktail." (7/29/03)

Mike, of course, being an upright guy, does not live in a house that uses wood from trees, does not go to the bathroom more than once a month, has never lived on a filled plot of land, never fished in a dredged canal, and the rainwater from his roof falls upward, not adding to stormwater.

Neither does he live in the crowded Orlando Metropolitan Area, nor, perhaps, in the State of Florida, this not adding to the congestion.

"Environmental laws don't work. They only alter the rate of destruction." He must mean, the nice gopher tortoise holes. To Mike, it is destruction to wipe out the tortoises and build a home for Mom, Pop, and those 2 kids of theirs.

Destruction, it should be noted, that Mike sanctions -- when it is his family's housing involved.

"And as the wild things go, so does our quality of life. The death of natural Florida is directly linked to growth. When gopher tortoises vanish, it means more cars on the roads and more kids in the schools."

Mike, you're describing life, not death. Just a little more of it than you're used to. And don't worry about Florida wildlife. It'll be here when the last Floridian is lying in his grave.

Don't believe me? Try not mowing your lawn for the next 6 months.

"(The proposed amendment) is not a small change. This is revolution."

He's 100% right.

The limiting of land uses to what the voters might approve is tantamount to a vote to take an individual's wallet and distribute the contents to the community.

In some countries, the government does not stop at such a halfhearted measure.

It confiscates all land and houses, and then redistributes it on the basis of need. Anybody want to name a country where that has happened?

"If this amendment does not pass, Florida's communities will be destroyed one change at a time to their comprehensive growth plans." Mike blames the [politicians] for getting in bed with the developers for this. He can't prove anything, but he strongly suspects.

Lest anyone has missed the point, or needs explanation, Mike makes it clear that all citizens are in for free gifts if they enact the amendment:

"With this amendment, they actually would have to prove to the community that their land-use changes were for the community good. This would mean more concessions on parks, schools, the environment, roads and other amenities."

Redistribute the wealth. Gimme some of yours.

"Go to http://www.floridahometowndemocracy.com/

Click on the link that says "PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION AND MAIL IT IN NOW!" concludes Mike's advice.

And pass it on, he urges.

"It is a legitimate grassroots effort by people who care about this state. I hope groups such as Audubon of Florida and Friends of the Wekiva River quickly join the effort." Don't worry, they will. In both cases, their avowed goals are to eliminate private property.

"It is Florida's last chance." Anyone wanting to tell Mike what they think can reach him at 407-420-5525 or mthomas@orlandosentinel.com

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Brevard Insider is published 5 times a week except holidays at 1106 Ramblebrook St., Malabar, Fl. 32950. Tel (321) 956-0815. Fax (321) 956-8762. Email ESCMC@aol.com  Copyright 2003. Publisher Pond Press, Inc. Editor: Edward S. Clark. Assistant editor: Dan Warrensford. Contributing editors Doug Doudney, J. D. Tucker, Michael Moehle, Bob Brewster, David Russell, Chuck Morley, Bill Love. Contrarian: Robert D. Clark. Researcher, Electronic distribution: Tim Wooley. Subscription price $6.50 per month.