Personal Responsibilty and the Role of the Government

Are you a criminal? Have you ever thought that you might be a criminal? Consider this: Cobb County has seven hundred thousand people and one thousand six hundred fifty eight pages of County Code of Ordinances.

With those kind of numbers, there is a chance that you could be a criminal and not even know it. If you violate that Code, it is punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or sixty days imprisonment, or both. The word 'criminal' brings images of murder, fraud, theft, and so on. It can also be a whole lot more mundane than you think.

Did you let your dog go outside by itself for a bathroom break and let the dog wander into your neighbor's yard? That is criminal. Have you ever played your radio outside while you were washing your car and woke up your neighbor? That is criminal.

Have you ever hung a banner in your yard letting the public know about your upcoming yard sale? Criminal. Are you successfully selling your artwork on e-Bay without a business license? Criminal. Have you built a shed in your backyard that was close to your property line? Criminal. The list goes on.

You may be thinking, those are code violations not the acts of a criminal. In the eyes of the County they are the same thing. Code violations are criminal activities. Normally, it takes a complaint to get the County to act; however, to quote the head of the Zoning Department, "illegal is illegal, and once the County is aware of a problem, we have to take action to enforce the County Code."

Depending upon your violation, action means that you will be issued a Citation or you will be issued a Notification of Violation, and given ten days to correct your criminal ways.

In 1967, the State of Georgia gave Cobb County the power to adopt ordinances or regulations for the purpose of protecting and preserving the health, safety, welfare and morals of the citizens thereof as it may deem advisable. The County has taken that to heart, and created almost seventeen hundred pages of ordinances and regulations.

In the past, wrongful actions drove the creation of new ordinances- a need for protection and preservation was clear, and an ordinance was created to handle it. Now, paranoia and fear drive the creation of new ordinances- while the majority of the people may be responsible citizens, a few may not be, so we should 'protect and preserve' by passing new ordinances. Luckily for the people of Cobb, there are no shortage of 'Civic Groups' that are determining what should be protected and preserved.

The Constitution of Georgia states, "All government, of right, originates with the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole. Public officers are the trustees and servants of the people and are at all times amenable to them." The key words there are 'of right', 'solely for the good of the whole', and 'servants of the people'.

The County serves as our Master now, not our Servant. The County Code of Ordinances has usurped many of our Rights as spelled out in the First Article of the State Constitution- life, liberty, and property. Section One, Paragraph Two states, "Protection to person and property is the paramount duty of government and shall be impartial and complete." Ordinances that strip your property rights while honoring your neighbors are unconstitutional.

The County can only take what it is allowed to take by its citizens. The Constitution states, "The people of this state have the inherent right of regulating their internal government. Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people; and at all times they have the right to alter or reform the same whenever the public good may require it."

Cobb County citizens, while claiming to be conservatives who value small government, do nothing to stop the County from robbing them of their Rights, and actually encourage it by voting in the people keep this pattern going.

So the next time you want to buy a pet, build a fence, or do yard work, think to yourself, "Am I about to commit a criminal activity? What would my neighbors think?" and the next time you are at the polls, think to yourself, "Is this person a servant of the whole people, or just a servant of a portion of the people who want to tell me how to live my life?"