What follows in this column has been boiling inside of me for a long time. I’m talking about “convenient disregard of the Rule of Law,” and I see it happening in my hometown and at the national and international levels. It is a symptom of misuse of power.
Around town, I’ve seen close-up what appears to be convenient disregard for the law. As a citizen attending Planning Board meetings, expressing concern about the impact of projects such as gravel pits and subdivisions, I had a vague sense of it. I don’t honestly know whether the law was broken, but over and over again it seemed that the developers were getting their way just by dotting one more “i,” and that the citizens’ voices were heard but rarely acted upon. Certainly no project was stopped because of the citizens’ concerns.
This has come to a head with the Pit Stop project in Standish. Residents believe that laws were broken and have brought a lawsuit. I cheer them! They represent many of us who have worked hard on the Comprehensive Plan to create a vision for Standish, who have served on town committees and boards, and who have raised their voices.
It’s happened again with Standish’s Historic Preservation Ordinance. In this case, the Historic Preservation Committee decided it didn’t like the ordinance that was passed by town-wide referendum. So they overlooked the law to come to a compromise that allows development in the Historic Village District – just what the ordinance sought to prevent. The Committee disliked the ordinance so much that Town Councilor Larry Simpson proposed revoking it!
I don’t mind that they are on one side of the continuing struggle between hyper-development and preservation of our village lifestyle (although I can’t help noticing how often this development benefits people in power and their friends). What disturbs me is that those in power feel their beliefs and their desire to reward cronies can trump the vision expressed in law by Standish’s citizens. That’s an abuse of power, and it’s happening everywhere these days.
Haven’t we heard this before? What about the cronyism we see on the national scene? What about the laws being ignored? Who can blame the local officials if they are just following what the President and Vice President are doing?
If Dick Cheney didn’t need to have a quail-hunting license, why do we? And who needs to get permission to snoop on someone else, if the President can ignore the law that says he must go to the FISA court before eavesdropping on citizens without a warrant? Who should obey “No Trespassing” signs if the President doesn’t need United Nations support before invading another country pre-emptively? Heck, the United States has even refused to participate in the International Criminal Court…laws just don’t apply to us!
I’m worried. The power structure in this nation is running roughshod over our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and our Laws, and it’s being reflected right here in the bowels of our country. It doesn’t smell right.
There are no longer any checks and balances in our government with one party controlling the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. Do you remember learning about that in Civics class? Weren’t we so proud of our forefathers for designing a government that would never sink into an English-style royal dictatorship? What has happened now?
Ignoring the law is only acceptable when the law is fundamentally unconstitutional or wicked. The PATRIOT Act comes to mind. In fact, if we want to end the lawlessness in our towns and in Washington, a little civil disobedience may be in order.
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