The Town Board has done it again. Yet another Public Hearing was held which was nothing but lip service to the concept of the rule of the people, otherwise known as democracy. As 41 people stood up (and only six spoke in favor of the new Zoning Code), members of the Rochester Politburo shook their heads and rolled their eyes, as if to say "What are these people doing here? Don't they realize that we are the ones with all the brains? If they would only go home, watch TV and let us make all the decisions, we would all be better off."Like dictators throughout history, they seek to clothe their lust for power in a cloak of beneficence. They claim to be doing it in our best interests. They say that they are only thinking of the good of the Town. They kiss the babies and pet the dogs in order to seem likable. When someone points out the similarities of this Town Board when compared to various Socialist despots and military juntas, they poo-poo the comparison, yet anyone who reads history can plainly see the family resemblance. There can be no serious doubt. We are, in fact, living in the People's Republic of Rochester. Be sure to show your official ID Card to the Secret Police before you leave, please.
The Zoning Code as proposed is a ludicrous, overbearing, busybody piece of legislation which seeks to interfere in just about anything having to do with private property rights: from digging holes to cutting trees, from how much land to leave undeveloped to forcing houses to be far closer together than is normal in a rural Town. They claim to be protecting us from suburban style development by bringing suburban style rules to our backyards. Inpoint of fact, they are doing what Socialists have been trying to do since Marx and Engels published their Communist Manifesto in 1848: destroy the rights of property owners.
The vast majority of those present spoke against this law, but it will pass. It will pass because the Town Board is unequivocally unconcerned with the will of the people. They have rejected the idea that they answer to us. They have broken their promise to serve us, over and over again. They have betrayed the public trust by turning their backs on their neighbors and are preparing to completely destroy the fabric of our Town and, in doing so, our very community.
The only way to stop them is to turn out on Election Day and vote everyone of them who is up for re-election out of office. It is time to show them who is boss. They think they rule with impunity, we can show them the way to the unemployment line. All it takes is resolution and strength of will.
True Rural Character will, I am confident, carry the day and reclaim the Town for the people who love it.
