April 18,
1994
To The Editor, St.
Louis Post-Dispatch:
I was always under the
impression that laws were applicable to all citizens. However, this does not seem to be the case anymore. Violators of the law are no longer looked
upon as lawbreakers, but rather victims of government oppression. Unfortunately, the real victims are the
citizens who obey the laws while watching as those who don't get by with it.
First, there was
Margaret Gilleo. She knew when she
moved into Ladue the restrictions on signs, yet she chose to make the choice
and live there, anyway. What
happens? She decides she doesn't like
Ladue's sign law, breaks it, and is cited by the city. No matter how silly the law is, the city is
in the right; she knowingly broke the law.
If she didn't like the law, she should have: tried to get it changed through the political process; moved to a
place without such a law. She chose to
sue. Hundreds of thousands of
taxpayers' dollars later, the case is at the Supreme Court, who think it's
downright silly (according to the article in the Post-Dispatch). Through all this, Ms. Gilleo is made to be a
heroine for standing up to the villainous city of Ladue. And Ms. Gilleo knowingly broke the law. If the law was as bad as the ACLU and Ms.
Gilleo claim, wouldn't other citizens of Ladue have protested to the city and gotten
the law changed through the political process?
Obviously, the citizens of Ladue did not think it was a bad law if it
was in effect for such a long period of time.
Now, I read about the
young couple buying a house in Wilbur Park that object to the village's
building codes. When they purchased the
house, officials told them what repairs would be required to obtain an
occupancy permit. The couple went ahead
with the purchase, and now wants the village to waive some of the required
repairs so they can occupy the house before June 1. Rules are rules; they knew what was required of them before they
purchased the house. If they did not
like what was required, they shouldn't have bought in Wilbur Park.
When will this
selfishness end? I know of people who
reside in Missouri who have out-of-state licenses to avoid paying Missouri
taxes. If I have to pay, shouldn't
they? If the other residents of Ladue
have to obey the city's ordinances, shouldn't Ms. Gilleo? If other residents of Wilbur Park have to comply
with building codes, shouldn't the young couple? Because of this type of selfishness, our society is slipping
into anarchy. Who can forget the scenes
of the riots in L.A., where throngs of selfish people who felt that they were
outside the law wreaked havoc and destruction upon innocent law-abiding
citizens. If we don't stop this
selfishness now, this type of anarchy will become commonplace throughout the
country.
Michael
H. Schrader
Farmington,
MO