GOVERNMENT'S EVER INTRUSIVE ARMS

George Offerman

My wife and I went out for dinner last night for our anniversary, and decided to go to a new restaurant that is in the western suburbs of the Washington, D.C area. We decided to wait until 6 pm to let some of the traffic die down, and then headed out on what should have been the opposite direction of the major rush. We had no difficulty with the first ten miles of the trip, but it was the last two miles that took over 30 minutes to complete. Needless to say, this caused some aggravation (mainly on my part) and a discussion about how intrusive government seems to be in our lives, even in the most mundane aspects.

We noticed that the traffic lights were not coordinated at all, despite the fact Fairfax County ahs spent millions of taxpayer money on cameras that the supposed ‘traffic engineers and planners’ use to make sure there are not unnecessary back ups and delays. Obviously, they do not pay much attention to the reality, but it sure is a good gimmick to continue demanding an ever increasing budget to ‘study’ the problem further. It always seems that any excuse by the so called planners to fleece taxpayers out of more money is the standard operating procedure for these people.

I remember living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for 3 years as I went to college, and remember how we used to be able to get through town, even during rush hour fairly simply. Back then, there were no computer systems, cameras and highly paid traffic engineers to ‘fix’ the timing and lights. They worked out the logistics without all of the fancy technology that is supposed to make our lives easier. I just think that in ‘fly over’ country, they seem to respect freedom and individual rights a lot more than the ‘sophisticated’ northeast.

My wife suggested that it is mainly a control issue, and that the government seems to be deliberately doing these things to show they can do them, and to make some political point, that the congestion is ‘unavoidable’ and ultimately will use this as an excuse in the future to further regulate behavior. This is not so inconceivable, given the messes the government makes in the larger arenas (the current fiasco of the oil spill) and their inevitable over reaction and regulation.

This government wants to control every aspect of our lives, and they have done a commendable job on creating a citizenry of robots, who do not do much thinking for themselves, and pretty much go along with whatever is thrown their way. (Obviously there is a group that defies this description). When one can see issues that are simple to handle, such as timing of traffic lights, and all the government can come up with is excuses and never ending requests for funding increases, one knows the citizenry has been duped and brainwashed into thinking government knows best, and the citizen would be lost without the ever pervasive meddling of big brother.

It is high time to pull oneself away from the idiot box, and get serious about some preparation for the long winter ready to visit us. The government will take care of you in the same fashion they did for the people of New Orleans after Katrina, the people after the Midwest floods, and the current problems of the oil soaked coast and subsequent excuses in covering up their incompetent decisions and inactions. (Government is only good at stealing and wasting your money) God gave us the responsibility to care for ourselves and families, and to assist the community. We need to practice that mandate, and take very seriously the times ready to visit us.