Having had to make a federal case out of the situation by moving the matter to federal court, the church finally received temporary permission to hold the memorial service. Throughout the whole article discussion centered on the church requesting permission, even temporary permission, to hold a memorial service for a fallen marine.

In today’s America churches and all other organizations and even individuals must first obtain permission to do anything, even to hold memorial services. How sad it is that this fallen marine, who fought for the right of the individual to be able to do as he pleases without having to obtain permission from his government, may have died in vain.

It has been clearly stated to all Americans that the American military is in Iraq in order to defend the very freedom that the marine’s father was trying to exercise. Yet, a government agency, in this case a village board, has the audacity to dictate to a church when it can hold services.

Of course the standard answer to this scenario is that if the building is not properly built, then individuals could get hurt. True enough, but the responsibility of the quality of the construction and the landscaping is that of the owners of the church and its parishioners. It certainly is not the taxpayers, whose responsibility it does become when a free society is turned into one controlled by government officials.

A free society encourages individuals to be responsible through the voluntary decisions individuals make concerning the safety of buildings, food, and whatever else individuals use. Government cannot make individuals perfectly safe or even a little safe without assuming dictatorial powers. The taxpayer, not the individual government official, becomes responsible, causing more taxes to be obtained from the citizenry leaving less in the citizen’s hands to do with as he pleases. Each individual must provide for his own safety or in voluntary cooperation with others.

American military forces are not defending freedom when freedom does not exist in America. Freedom exists in America when individuals are free to make their own decisions without having first to obtain permission from their government. When an individual is free to make decisions without having to obtain government permission, the individual automatically assumes the responsibility of that decision.

In a controlled society no such responsibility exists since there is no one to assume the responsibility of any decision. Freedom encourages self-responsibility. A controlled society does not. There is no room for government control in a free society.

Tomorrow, June 15, 7 PM at The Freedom Library, the Yuma Freedom Discussion Society will view the video entitled, “Overview of America”, a panoramic vision of the timeless moral principles that has made America unique among nations.