Big Government, Photography and Freedom

Posted by Jeff Carter
on October 12th, 2011

I read this linked article today. I have family that lives up in Alaska. They have told me that government rangers keep people out of plenty of public places all over Alaska. They don’t allow people on public lands. But then, they either take friends and family there, or take payoffs to guide people to the places that they prohibit the public from in the name of the law.

If we are going to have public land, shouldn’t the public be allowed on it?

So it doesn’t surprise me when either big government, or companies try to stop photographers from snapping pictures of things they deem inappropriate.

Last January, remember this?

The next day, my wife and I put our boots on and marched over to the park to just see all the cars out on Lake Shore Drive. We hiked over to the beach, and then police stopped us from going on the beach.

We thought we might take a few photos. Guess again.

Chicago police were threatening to arrest people taking photos of the cars being towed off Lake Shore Drive. They also kicked pedestrians off the pedestrian bridge that goes over the drive.
The above photo is from that same bridge. Wonder if it was a favored photographer, or how early they got there to snap the picture. Or, did they grease somebody’s palm to get access?

Cops got on their loudspeakers and warned people not to take photos.

Rather than try and set a Constitutional example in what we know are mostly corrupt Chicago city courts, we left. But, it shows how big government limits your freedom. We weren’t doing anything wrong. We were not in the way. No one was engaging in an unsafe act.

The Constitution and Bill of Rights are misinterpreted by most people. They don’t delineate the limits of people. They delineate the limits of government to trample the right of freedom of the people that elected it.

Government is way too big in the US. The left wing just wants more of it. Many on the right and left wing like big government because of the crony capitalism that ensues from it. That’s why we need to end it.

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