Thanks to Les Emmerson, The Five Man Electrical Band (circa 1970) for “Signs,” the inspiration behind this post—and the caption.
Government loves signs. Sometimes, they are hilarious; sometimes,they are a nuisance; sometimes, they probably, unlawfully, suppress a constitutional right. Always, they proliferate.
Always, though, the signs are revealing about the government in love with the power to put them up.
I drove into Montgomery Bell State Park in middle Tennessee recently. Sure enough, at the entrance, they want you to understand that you are not on your own property anymore. They own the property; they will let you use it, but it will be on their terms.
“No firearms.” No this, no that. No firearms. Only, our state law de-criminalizing handgun carry by permitted citizens of Tennessee and other states, is several years old.
The night before, I pointed out to Darfon’s restaurant manager in nearby Nashville, that what they really want is no murder, no armed robbery in their restaurant. I’m with them on that, but that no-firearms sign on the door won’t stop such people. Say Uncle wryly calls such signs the “impenetrable barrier made of wishful thinking.”
To the State of Tennessee: I understand the cost of changing signs. But, consider this: When you powers-that-be got the power to declare the citizen disarmed at the gate, no budget stood between you and your signs. You could afford to buy thousands of the damned things, and pay your maintenance people to run around in little state trucks all over the place, and put them up. Oh, yeah! No shortage of time and money when you wanted to put the signs up! Now, even though the law changed, your sign is wrong, and probably even a violation of a constitutional right, there it is. Ho, hum about taking it down, though.
Yes, the signs are there, for all who have the mind to see. And, the signs are very revealing. If you want to know the nature of government, see how they grow.
If you want to know what kind of country America is, then keep your eyes open for the huge sign that will go up after election day November 6.
