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

[policraticus.livejournal.com]

Sure. Freedom from having to serve darkies. Why do you want to limit my freedom to keep darkies out of my luncheonette? Hater.

[kinvore.livejournal.com]

So do you want to actually discuss the issue at hand or are you just going to keep trolling?

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

When did Rand Paul get an lj account?

[pastorlenny.livejournal.com]

Everybody knows that integration was thr result of the free market.

[mrsilence.livejournal.com]

I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that the Jim Crow laws can't be characterised as "You don't have to serve darkies".

[readherring.livejournal.com]

Same reason why the government limits my right to leave your luncheonette without paying.

Society dictates where the lines are drawn for the rules of law, and these lines move as society changes. Ultimate freedom to do whatever you want would be a fictional version of anarchy - even if people tried it, societal rules would naturally start being imposed to limit 'freedom' to rape and kill.

Society has changed to want to give citizens of all races equal treatment, so laws were enacted to enforce this. If society changes to a point where the American flag is considered so important, its presence can not be denied anywhere, then laws could be written to enforce that. But fortunately, we aren't at that silly level of flag-worship, so we don't have laws like that.