Honolulu Lite
The next person who says that driving on public highways is a privilege, not a right, should be thrashed with rubber traffic cones and run repeatedly through the McKinley Car Wash - without a car. Privileges are hijacked rights
This "using the roadways is a privilege" nonsense has sprung like a mushroom out of the dung heap of verbiage connected to use of cameras inside so-called "Tali-vans" to bust drivers who exceed the speed limit by even an iota.
People finally have wised up to the offensive and oppressive nature of this new Orwellian speeding enforcement effort. Politicians are running for the hills, at least the smart ones are. Mayor Jeremy Harris ordered that the Tali-vans not park on or ticket drivers on city streets, an act for which many voters will forgive a multitude of campaign spending sins. Hawaii's personal Wizard of Washington, the wise and venerable Dan (Gandalf) Inouye, who knows a thing or two about dumb laws, said the speeding camera program suffers heavily in the suckage department. (That's a paraphrase.)
There are a few political dullards who haven't stuck their fingers in the wind yet. It's over fellas. Your sneaky attempt to squeeze yet more money out of residents under the shibai of traffic safety has failed. You have succeeded in driving islanders into one righteous concentrated, consolidated and unified fit of road rage. Pity the unfortunate soul who just happens to own a white van that breaks down along the road. If he's smart, he'll hide in the bushes until the tow truck gets there.
There are a few proponents of the speeding cameras left. They are mostly lobotomy cases, programmed to believe that the government can do no wrong. They write letters to the editors saying things like, if you get caught speeding, you should pay, not whine. Yet, I'm sure they have exceeded the speed limit themselves. If they are such fine citizens, why do they have to be caught? They know they broke the law. Why don't they turn themselves in or send a check to the DOT?
But the really annoying guv-lovers are the ones who say it's all right to subject everyone to perpetual speed traps designed to enrich a single, chosen private company, because it is a "privilege" not a "right" to drive on a public road. If I buy a bagel from the bakery, it's my right to eat it. After I buy it, the bakery can grant no privileges to the use of that bagel.
We pay for the roads and highways through auto-registration fees, license fees, gas taxes, income taxes and this, that and the other taxes. If the government finds me competent to drive a car (that's a discussion for another day) and I've paid my taxes, I have a right to use the roads I've paid for.
Having my garbage picked up is not a privilege. Having water and sewer service to my house is not a privilege. Having the use of a clean restroom in Kapiolani Park is not a privilege (although finding one is another matter.) We pay for all of these.
Now that the speeding camera fiasco has awakened the inner Libertarians in many residents, maybe they'll realize that the many parts of our lives that the government now controls and calls privileges, we used to own for free.
Alo-Ha! Friday compiles odd bits of news from Hawaii
and the world to get your weekend off to an entertaining start.
Charles Memminger also writes Honolulu Lite Mondays,
Wednesdays and Sundays. Send ideas to him at the
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210,
Honolulu 96813, phone 235-6490 or e-mail cmemminger@starbulletin.com.
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