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Sunday, August 13, 2006
D OUBLE TROUBLE
Two terms trouble me without end in the news accounts these days. They bother me, I think because I retain a bit of doubt concerning my actual understanding of each of them. Other people, when they are discussing the day's news can make the item come alive by dropping a casual, confident reference to “pre-emptive invasion” or the possibility of “eminent domain” be used to someone's advantage!
The are both militant terms, you see, and when used must be said with clarity and asserted assurances of proper back-up information being available if needed.
“Eminent domain” sounds so “legalese”, doesn't it? It's complete ,too... as if there might be nothing beyond it in human intelligence. But, far too often when practiced it strikes me as being unfair to someone. The element of personal gain seems to occur far too often in discussions about specific cases. The complainer must have some claim of an error being made – primarily that private gain question – or objections may not be so numerous. When a city government takes over a property owned by an individual and gives it to a new set of owners – a corporation - who will pay more taxes than they received from the individual owner - something is wrong, very wrong.
As long as such a law in valid in federal, state and local governments and boards, directors, fire company reps, school boards, charity groups and others. We are going to continue to have such laxity until such time as we can get some sane rules of equity and common decency. I agree a project for the common good can be delayed of forestalled entirely by his stubborn refusal to sell. Here must be a better way of dealing with such a community clod than engaging in that which appears to be legalized theft.
As for the other term I worry about: “Pre-emptive invasion”...
It's popular right now since the Iraqi war is said to have been one such example....a “pre-emptive war, invasion, attack...etc”. My difficulty begins when I find the Iraqi leaders calling their actions, which invited the war, “pre-emptive” as well. All sides of anything can't be the cause of each other, or can they?
If that be the case the already cumbersome United Nations to be enlarged by adding a new Department of Definitions to tell us what we really mean when we say something. Anything.
Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 8-13-06 [c416wds]
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