Pity the prey of the fledgling hawk. Feathers proud and talons taut, the predator surveys the valley for unsuspecting victims. Power and opportunity are his; it's time to kill something. Nature's law allows the hawk unlimited choices in the hunt. Life is good for the predator and unsettling for potential prey scurrying about the meadows in their daily struggle for life.
Politicians perverted our Constitution by creating stand-alone panels to reign unfettered over citizens. Like the hawk, bureaucrats throughout the country find themselves with newly-anointed power, position and opportunity. They peer from their arrogant aerie at potential prey then swoop, sending businesses and working Americans scrambling and cowering in fear of the government-appointed predator.
One such panel is the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department. They determined all public restaurants, bars and gambling establishments would go smoke-free under penalty of fines and/or imprisonment. They used their unfettered power to make laws, then the courts and law enforcement to carry out their wishes.
The MOVHD's approval of smoking rooms before their "unapproval" is further proof of the unbridled power they are willing and able to hurl at the people. Their hammer is usually brought down on the employees, the most defenseless and easily intimidated by these arrogant representatives of the government.
The ultimate finger-pointing and excuse-making between this entire gang is what always happens when bureaucrats have the light shined into their dark corners.
If a six-county area in West Virginia has out-of-control, unelected, authoritarian officials reigning terror upon the populace, imagine the possibilities nationwide. People accept loss of liberty in leaps and bounds to the EPA, TSA and local health boards. Many of these health boards even regulate salt, fat, cholesterol and sugar.
Tyranny knocks on freedom's door in subtle forms. Goose-stepping armies and headlines of war were never a match for Americans. However, the enemies of liberty most often arrive stealthily and unheralded on legal wings sprouting from overzealous government agents empowered by unsavory politicians. Seeking cover for their nefarious deeds, the intent is controlling personal behavior, expansion of liberal-progressive ideology, and nanny-state totalitarianism.
Sadly, that individualistic, freedom-loving American spirit once so prominent in the genes of this nation is quickly passing from the body of the nation. We must realize a state's all-encompassing protection from everything drains the very life from our liberty.
Our founders warned us to remain vigilant. Please, someone wake up Johnny Freedom.
Jim Mullen
Parkersburg
