Cain asked his infamous question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” He was telling the Lord that he didn’t have the responsibility to keep track of where his brother was at the time. Ironically Cain knew exactly where his brother was… he had recently killed him because he was jealous of the property that his brother had and he wanted control of it.
Has our society in many ways become that kind of big brother? Let me rephrase that. Our society HAS in many ways become that kind of big brother. From the cradle to the grave Big Brother has become jealous of our private property and our ability to use that property according to the dictates of our own conscience.
As in Cain’s early sin, I believe that many of our societal ills come from individuals or group seeking to get personal gain at the expense of others.
Let me share a few experiences. When our first child was born I watched the skilled medical staff as they helped my wife and new baby through the delivery process. I was amazed and very grateful for the help rendered. I was willing and un-begrudging as I paid the fees associated with the service. I chose to have the care provided to us.
The experience unfortunately didn’t end there. The day following the delivery, an innocent audiology technician came asking if we wanted to have a hearing test. Upon asking for more information, she reported to me that it was a state law, and that if I didn’t have the test performed, I could be cited by the State of Utah. All of-a-sudden, this helpful service now became the master, in control of my decision. Finally the time came to leave the hospital. Again, another innocent nurse wouldn’t allow us to carry our own child, or leave until she had inspected our car seat and seat belts. I was left scratching my head and wondering, “How did this great helping facility get off track and become a controlling facility?”
During the past 15 years I’ve been involved in some home construction projects for my personal use. The entire construction process is overshadowed by, “What does the inspector want?” Personal decision takes a second position, because if I don’t do things like the “code” requires, the inspector will not allow me to live in or use my own house that I’ve built with my own labor, finances, time and resources. The fire departments in our cities used to be there to help us in case of an accidental fire. Now they dictate what fire safety precautions will happen in our home before they will allow us to move in, Again, I’ve asked myself, “How did a city or county building inspector or fire marshall gain control over my decision making ability, property and the labors of my own hands?”
When you finally get moved in you are free from inspection… you hope. Unfortunately that may not be the case in Howell, Utah where the town council and planning commission are currently considering an ordinance that will allow them to go back in to mobile homes and inspect them to make sure they are “safe.” Really? Who has the right to inspect our personal homes? How did our society get to be that Big Brother?
What about the Utopia internet service that Brigham City and several other surrounding communities have bonded for. Surely there is nothing wrong with hi-tech fiber optic service, or is there? The bond puts the burden on all property tax owners regardless of whether they want or like that particular internet service, or any service at all. At least a portion of the cost was to be paid for by some other government grant, which is another way of shifting the cost to another group of tax payers who are not even aware of where their tax dollars went. Who asked for Big Brother to make that decision for a non-essential service?
We don’t even need to discuss the federal topics of Social Security (Big Brother deciding when and how much retirement we should save for), nor do we need to discuss the new federal health care mandates which have been decided for us. The list could go on and on showing how Big Brother is there for us from the cradle to the grave, taking our god-given rights of property and the management of that property, just like Abel’s brother did for him.
There is hope, however. We still have the ability to choose good and wise leaders. That hasn’t been taken away... yet. If we as a society would just quit asking them to take care of us and solve every problem, government could be limited to its appropriate realm of protecting against enemies foreign and domestic, and just let us be free to act for ourselves.
Residents of Willard and South Willard have been facing the question of whether South Willard should be annexed into the City of Willard. Some residents of South Willard might ask the question, “What will Willard City provide for us?” My question however, would be, “What does the City of Willard promise to NOT provide?” Maybe, so many traffic tickets…
