Re: [MV] Politics and MV's

SBJohnston@aol.com
Tue, 2 Mar 1999 13:23:42 EST

Jon wrote:

>The founding fathers gave us rights.....and thats it!

The "founding athers' did not give us our rights, human beings have them
naturally. We choose to surrender some rights in the name of living together
harmoniously, such as outlined in our Constitution.

Private ownership of military vehicles may be intimidating or threatening to
some of our fellow citizens, but since it does not hurt them I believe it does
not fit the criteria that would make it necessary for us to give up the right
to own them.

I've noticed that government officials, local on up to federal, are always on
the lookout for a right to take away from a segment of the population that
makes them look good to the rest of the people but will cost them little
politically. The elimination of surplus and imported military vehicles is one
such case. The officials end up looking like they are "saving" the people
from a threat, and those hurt by the rules are probably not strong enough to
fight back. It is a "win" for the officials.

The only reasonable way to handle this erosion of rights is to make life
politically difficult for the officials. Reasoned and thoughtful letters to
editors of newspapers, discussions with Senators and Representatives, and the
like could be just the way to do it. If military vehicle enthusiasts appear
to be a reasonable bunch that bring history to life, there's hope. If we come
off as rabid, anti-government flakes, we actually end up promoting the case
for tight regulation to protect the people from us.

Steve Johnston

sbjohnston@aol.com
http://www.qsl.net/wd8das

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