Do you know how to eat an elephant?

Letter to the Editor Cumberland Times News:

Sure, you know how to eat an elephant…one bite at a time; but do you know how to turn a democratic republic into a communist/socialist society? You do it pretty much the same way. One new law, one new ordinance, one new regulation at a time and before you know it, you’ve squandered your rights. You will have lost your freedoms; not because you’ve allowed them to slip away, but because you have asked for them to be taken away. There are many examples of well intentioned laws/ regulations that have done little more than make us less free and give us fewer rights.

Locally, a debate about sprinklers is going on. Should we or shouldn’t we be made to have sprinklers in our newly built homes? The debates have been pretty one sided thus far. The local volunteer fire and rescue association has clearly defeated the home-builders association in the eyes of the public. Their argument of public safety and a safe work environment is more compelling than the home-builders cost objection. Cost, though an important factor, has little to do with why this code should not be implemented. Sprinklers will save lives, they will provide a better work environment for our bravest, but they should not be mandatory. We are citizens of the United States. We are the freest country on the Earth. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, “…where will we go when freedoms are lost here? There is no other country to run to…the United States is the last chance for freedom on the Earth.” When will we stop eating this elephant? More and more regulations, laws and orders are not what our forefathers imagined when they declared their independence or when they wrote the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Independence Day is fast approaching. Stand and be heard! Declare your independence from “Big Brother” no matter how well intentioned his arguments or how well he delivers a speech. Take back your country. Start here in the City of Cumberland and/or Alleganey County. Say NO to more regulations! Say NO to fewer rights and fewer freedoms! Say NO to mandatory sprinklers in your new homes. Say NO to communism/socialism. Demand choice! Remember, we are the land of the free and the home of the brave. Surely our fire and rescue volunteers are among the bravest and one could say that we are the land of the free because of the brave, but let’s not forget that we are the land of the FREE. FREE to choose for ourselves, FREE to live as we’d like, FREE to vote for or against politicians/councilman based on how they serve their constituents versus special interests groups/fire and rescue associations and unions.


Don Bishop
Cumberland, MD