And Another Thing, Commissioner Dr...

Do you know what a brainstem response is?  It's what your body and your nervous system will do if your brain has died.  There are some reflexes that do not extinguish, even when you're brain dead.

Whenever someone mentions codes, or rules, Commissioner Dr Cooper exhibits a brainstem response.  He cautions, in the most dire ways, about the nefarious incursions of government, and illustrates how government victimizes people.  His fantasies sound like they are about particular leaders, or maybe code enforcement officers, who will hound and harass residents whom they have singled out for abuse.  His usual examples, and the one he invoked last night, are about compromised people, in this case someone with cancer, and upon whom the cruel code enforcement officer (and Code Review Board?, and Commission?) descends to torment. 

But apart from the particular heart-rending horror stories, there is a broader theme.  An overarching complaint.  Can't people live in peace, wonders the Commissioner Dr?  Must their lives be regimented, and their liberties and even freedom of expression be curtailed?  What if they like their landscaping, and their home maintenance, like that?

The answer is this, Commissioner Dr Cooper: No, they cannot live in the peace you fantasy.  Yes, something in the maintenance of their properties must be regimented.  If they can't cut their grass or control their plantings, because they're sick, or poor, or just don't particularly feel like it, someone will do it for them.  And as of last night, who does it for them, which is the Village, will be compensated.

We live together in this home we share.  We chose it this way.  At some level, and in some ways, we are answerable to each other.  If we can't be bothered, or make the expense, to do something about chipping paint, or unfinished roofing, that's not OK with our neighbors.  It's part of the cost of living with other people, in a municipality.

But there is an answer to this problem.  None of us has to live with the rest.  Any of us can choose to live out in the country, not in a municipality, where no one will tax us, or make rules.  We don't have to cut the grass, or repaint, or do any repairs, unless we feel like it.  God created Montana for a reason.