PEA RIDGE — I expect there will be a run-off for Pea Ridge mayor.
I’m mighty glad that we have some good men to vote for.
I don’t feel that the choices are so good when you move up the ballot. That’s because these days, our choices at the highest level are limited to those who have access to millions of dollars of political money. And that money comes, not so much from the citizens of Arkansas, but rather from a small elite, and global corporations with no special ties to our country.
Local government still serves the average citizen, but Washington doesn’t.
Most federal politicians serve the people who provide them with the political money that they need to stay in the political game. That’s the big banks and global corporations. That’s why we can’t really get them to listen to us on bank bailouts, illegal immigration, controlling spending, so-called “free trade” or any other issue where global business interests have a contrary opinion. Unlike local government, the big boys and girls now work for them,
not us.
This is going to lead to
a split. You’ve got local
government that usually
wants to serve the interests
of the common citizen, and
a federal government that
has sold them out for the
big money some time ago.
Until now, local governments
and the federal government
have gotten along fairly well,
but the underlying tension
between them is going to
increase. This is because
the local governments will
want to continue to act in
the interests of the people,
and the central government
will continue to act in the
interests of their paymasters.
As the people grow restless,
the feds will use increasingly
unconstitutional and repres
sive measures to tamp down
on growing dissent.
In the past, the feds have
usually asked state and local governments to do their law-enforcement work for them, or at least provide a major assist. As long as most folks felt that the laws were just, that was not a problem.
Soon, it may be. Once the laws become repressive, and unconstitutional, will the local governments continue to work with the feds, or will they refuse to help clamp chains on the locals? I’d like to know from our mayoral candidates what their answer is.
For example, if the feds decide to have a general round-up of firearms, like they did in New Orleans after Katrina, will the city assist them or refuse to assist them? If they decide that we can no longer have a certain type of gun, or more than a certain number of rounds of ammo, or we can no longer have a magazine that holds more than a certain number of rounds, will the city assist them in enforcement or refuse to assist? If the feds decide that citizens need to get a federal license, or permit or pay a tax or fee to possess guns or ammo, willthe city assist them with enforcement or refuse to assist them?
What if they classify someone as a “domestic terrorist” just because they express opinions that the government does not like, or peacefully protest the actions of government officials? What if a preacher preaches what the Bible says about homosexual acts, and this free speech gets redefined as “hate speech”?
Will the city of Pea Ridge assist the federal government in enforcing such laws, or will they refuse to assist them?
I’d like to know the answers. If you would, too, I’d hope you’d ask whoever makes the run-off what their position is, and let us know.
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Editor’s note: Mark Moore is the lead writer for an Internet blog on matters pertaining to Arkansas culture and government, Arkansas Watch, and on Tuesday nights is the host of an Internet-based radio program, Patriots on Watch. He can be reached through The Times at [email protected].
Opinion, Pages 4 on 11/03/2010