Keep your government hands in our business

[kinvore.livejournal.com]

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend in the States, where we honor the men and women who died in military service. You'll see all kinds of patriotic fervor during this time, hell even PBS gets involved, but I'm not by any means complaining. Then we get stuff like this:

A property management company is under hot water for telling a tenant that after Memorial Day he has to take down an American Flag that he has on display in his window.

Here's what gets me:

Dawn Price said she now works to amend the federal Freedom to Display the American Flag Act of 2005, which states no "condominium association, cooperative association, or residential real estate management association" may stop someone from flying the American flag. The law, however, does not apply to renters.

First I'm amazed we even have such a law to begin with, and I'm even more amazed that they want it even more intrusive. I thought conservatives didn't want government telling business what to do? Did these tenants not read their contract before signing it? Shouldn't we let the market decide if this is a good business practice?

It just seems like an example of glaring hypocrisy. Freedom is a double-edged sword, and sometimes it means having to tolerate things you don't agree with.

Comments

[tridus.livejournal.com]

"Freedom is a double-edged sword, and sometimes it means having to tolerate things you don't agree with."

Right, like tolerating that someone renting an apartment might want to have a flag. Why should the landlord have any right to influence if I do or don't put a flag up in a property I'm paying to use?

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

Well, they get to control what they're selling you, in this case the use of space. Sort of like they can control whether you can have pets and such and such. To a certain extent, the market does dictate the extent of control, because for instance, if they insisted you may only rent their space if you bolted all your furniture to the ceiling, people would probably go elsewhere instead. Why a landlord would insist no American flags, I have no idea, but I don't think that the government needs to get involved in correcting them.

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

Absolutely this!

[a-new-machine.livejournal.com]

*shrug* My landlord has veto power over how I paint the apartment. Is the difference just that it can be taken down easily? Because if that's the point, then I can paint an easily-covered green strip around my apartment, so long as it's easy to cover over.