Civil Disobedience

One of the pervasive slogans that are bandied about by conservatives, libertarians and Tea Party types is “That government is best which governs least.” It speaks to the true spirit of the Constitution and the idea that we as a people are free and unfettered by government's intrusive meddling.

The quotation is from Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience,” an essay published in
1849. It argues that people should not permit governments to overrule or atrophy their consciences, and that people have a duty to avoid allowing such acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice. As a conservative and a smaller government pragmatist, this mantra is the basis by which I live my political life.

There have been several articles on GT Patch in recent weeks that have dealt with the idea of government intrusion right here in our fair town. Some weeks back I commented negatively on the specious use of a metal detector at Council meetings. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unlawful searches but in the name of safety we blithely pass through and abrogate our rights
because government says that is what is best. I strongly support our police and believe that they are one of the finest departments in the land but with no real threat to safety or security the use of such a device is unwarranted.

 The article that stood out most was not a political or government related article but an innocuous post regarding Gloucester Township Day going GREEN. The reporter was letting
the people know about the event and many of those who will be there including the Patch team. What was remarkable was not the article itself but the comments from readers that followed. The reporter mentioned the Mayor’s Green Team, which gives ideas on how to be more energy efficient and make the town, well, greener. One reader took great exception to tax dollars being spent on a Nanny State initiative such as the Green Team and queried why they would be at GT Day telling the residents how to live their lives. He made a valid point—this is the government telling people how to live and he was not happy.

The reporter shot back that this was not the place to discuss such a matter and chastised the reader for “overthinking things too much.” This spurred several other comments culminating in the reporter stating that she understood the reader’s position but did not agree with it.

Here is the position of the reader:

“The kernel of my issue with this or ANY government involvement, no matter how well intentioned, is that it expands government's role, no matter how much. Government is to serve the people and do very limited and specific things. It should never, in my opinion, have any commentary on how its citizens choose to live. This means they have no business being for or against helping the environment, or for or against any lifestyle. We can all see where that slippery slope has lead in our State and Federal government. It is fine if the Mayor as a private citizen on his own time wants to attend or hold a green meeting or day, but it is entirely different for him to do so as an elected official on time that he should have been doing other things, like trying to cut waste …”

My question is this, what exactly do you not agree with?

Government derives it power only by the consent of the governed, not too gray of an area one would think. We live in a Constitutional Republic, which means we as citizens vote for people to go to the seat of government and represent our views and morals on our behalf. More to the point, government works for us. It is not a matter of agreeing or disagreeing with the Mayor’s
stand on being green; it is that it is neither his job nor his authority to make any suggestions to the people on such things. No matter how helpful some may think the Green Team is and how interesting their suggestions are, it is not for any government official to involve themselves with telling the people how to live their lives. In fact it is for the people to tell elected officials how they should be doing things.

Record deficits at all levels of government, high taxes, less services, rampant corruption, scandal and intrusive policies are what happens when the people stop showing a little Civil Disobedience. Remember: That government is best which governs least.