Strange choice of words

Dear Editor:

Last week’s Morgan Messenger has County Commission President Brenda Hutchinson invoking the words of Benjamin Franklin in the recent mini-debate over courthouse security: “Those who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither.”

I have learned to like and respect Commissioner Hutchinson, and I absolutely agree with both Mr. Franklin’s words and Hutchinson’s stance on the courthouse security issue.

What I cannot understand is how Commissioner Hutchinson can invoke Benjamin Franklin’s thoughts on trading freedom for security and at the same time allow herself to be a driving force behind the imposition of countywide zoning legislation.

Zoning legislation, in whatever form, may be summed up as sacrificing a certain amount of individual freedom for a certain amount of nebulous security. Under zoning, we would give up certain property rights for the slippery promise that our neighbors would not engage in certain activities defined as obnoxious by county government.

Hardly an example of Mr. Franklin’s philosophy.

Reuben Darby
Hedgesville