Will Grigg?s Liberty Minute

August 18, 2011

Every government action is accompanied with the tacit ? and often overt ? threat of lethal force. This is why every time someone seeks to involve a government agency in a dispute, he risks becoming an accomplice to homicide. Jan Cline?s neighbor should have considered that principle.

In June, Cline ? a senior citizen and independent businesswoman ? was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer, which is among the most painful afflictions one can imagine. ?It?s a bone marrow cancer that eats through the bones and causes holes in the bones so that just by walking I can break a bone,? the resident of Salem, Oregon told a local television station.

To raise money for her treatment, Cline has held several yard sales, being careful to lay out the merchandise in her backyard so as not to create a problem. The sales were bringing in several hundred dollars a week until a neighbor, who somehow managed to take offense, called city officials to file a protest. The city sent a code enforcement official who ordered Cline to desist.

?I?m sorry ? rules are rules,? the municipal jackboot told Cline.

The people responsible for this act of officious cruelty are perfectly capable of herding their neighbors into death camps.

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