Will Grigg?s Liberty Minute

May 8,2008

Marshall Pappert of Bridgeville, Pennsylvania mistakenly believed that he lived in a city and a country in which the right to petition his elected representatives was a sacred right.

For years the 56-year-old Mr. Pappert has complained to his city government about the noise and dust produced by a neighboring concrete factory, which often begins operation at 2 a.m. Desperate for relief of some kind, Pappert has besieged city officials with letters, information requests, and phone calls.

After leaving three stern but polite voice mails for Borough Manager Lori Collins, Pappert was hit with a criminal harassment complaint because Collins didn?t like the tone of his voice. Incredibly, Pappert was arrested, and a district judge convicted him of the supposed crime of petitioning an elected representative. That decision should, and likely will, be overturned.

Officials who treat constituents in this fashion should not only be thrown out of office, I'm tempted to say they should also be placed in stocks in the town square and pelted with dead cats and rotten fruit.

Let us take back the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.