Is the overreaction by the feds at Bundy Ranch a symptom of an out-of-control government that no longer follows the will of the people? That’s the question posed by a small news site in St George, Utah. In my view, the government has a right to take Bundy’s cattle, considering he hasn’t paid in twenty years. Lots of other ranchers do pay. However, the militaristic response by the government with 200+ weaponized troops, armored vehicles, helicopters, and that obscene “Free Speech Zone” scares plenty of people in the area. The West has always mistrusted the feds (often with good reason). This throws gasoline on the fire.
The mask of benevolent bureaucracy slipped earlier this week in the simmering range war near Bunkerville, Nev. It’s getting tougher to pretend that the federal government is our servant in any real sense.
The real face of government was revealed when government sharpshooters trained their rifles on unarmed families who were peaceably videotaping and taking photos outside of a designated free speech zone. Government agents then threatened, intimidated, and arrested a man for refusing their orders to leave.
Our government is forcibly saying free speech only exists in a fenced-in pen in the desert and not outside of it., clearly showing their contempt for our rights and the Constitution. This is not a partisan issue. To my knowledge the first ‘Free Speech Zone’ was at the Democratic Convention in Boston in 2004.
This is a question that goes far beyond the Bundy’s land use situation.
Are we morally bound to obey a government that is no longer abiding by its foundational principles and limits?
My friend DJ Mitchell says:
From NSA spying on its own people, to SWAT-style raids on dairy producers, to a skewed tax code that favors the rich, I believe our government has lost its way. It no longer listens to its people, and it has no interest in local issues or voices.