Freosion
Sometimes the correct word does not exist.
A new word must be coined. It is often considered a protologism.
Such a word can be found, definition and all, at Wiktionary.
That word is the subject line and matter of this article.
Freosion is a term that defines the gnawing away of our freedoms.
This is accomplished not by grand strokes and legislation. The accomplishment is done via lethargy and inattention.
The lethargy is by our elected officials.
The inattention is by us.
The example was clear to me as I voted on Tuesday. I went to my polling location and for the fourth (4th) election straight, the signholders were not allowed their legal right to hold signs under state law.
It is not relevant if you consider them a nuisance or help.
The law is very clear. Under Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.) ,CHAPTER 54: ELECTIONS, Section 65: Activities at polling places; regulations; penalties; it is stated “and no other poster, card, handbill, placard, picture or circular intended to influence the action of the voter shall be posted, exhibited, circulated or distributed in the polling place,…within one hundred and fifty feet of the building entrance door to such polling place. ” That distance is reiterated four (4) times in the Statute.
The sign holders were squeezed into an area that was three hundred (300) feet from the entrance.
It was not just my polling place.
I watched video shot during the day at other polling locations.
Each was laid out to maximize the distance from the entrance.
I understand that good order must be maintained and that is the reason that we have police presence.
Our right to be within 150 feet is engraved in the law. The police, who put up the barriers, need to have maps which show the measured distances. (After all, this is not the first time that polling place has been used.) The barriers should be placed correctly each election cycle. It should not require a citizen to approach an officer and wait for a Supervosor to come over, so the distance can be re-measured and barriers correctly placed. The placement should be duplicatable each and every time, until the law is changed.
It is all the small things that we allow our elected and appointed representatives to get away with that erode our freedom.
Ask your officials to follow the rules and regulations they pass. Hold their feet to the fire. Do not accept “status -quo” answers of ” we always did it that way”. Make them write those rules down also.
Ask for access to your government.
Vigilance truly is the price of freedom.