By Order of Law, Vacate Your Home Immediately

Kelo vs. New London. A society gone amuck.

	Susette Kelo received notice of condemnation from the NLDC (New London Development Corporation) the day before Thanksgiving 2000.

Megan and Jenna, Sadly, one thing that happened while you guys were just 4 and 5 ½ years old was that the Supreme Court made one really bad decision. Not that they’ve never made a bad decision before, but this one,…well, this one really sucked.

I know, I know, talking about all this government and law stuff is probably boring to you. But, it really affects your lives so I hope you’ll pay attention to it. The case the Supreme Court ruled on was known as Kelo vs. New London. In some ways, Kelo vs. New London might be known as the “Roe v. Wade” of the 21^st Century. Although it doesn’t deal with life and death like Roe v. Wade, Kelo vs. New London marked the passing of your rights to own property in the way we previously knew it. A watershed event, you might say.

You see, when I was a kid, way back in ‘the day’, back before ‘lectricity’ and indoor plumbing and all that new fangled internet whatchamajiggies that we use today, we used to be able to own property. We could buy a house or a piece of land, and we actually owned it. It was ours. And as long as we paid the mortgage and the taxes on it, no one, and I mean no one, could take it from us.

“The specter of condemnation hangs over all property. Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory. —Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

Granted, if the government needed it to build an important road, hospital, or if the property was vital to protecting the security of the country or something else as noble, then the government could “acquire” the land from you for a fair market value. By “acquire,” I mean take it from you without asking permission. This is known as eminent domain. And, for some of these reasons, eminent domain is a necessary evil of running a democracy.

Unfortunately, in June of 2005, while you two were watching Bambi and Thumper on DVD, Kelo vs. New London was passed by the Supreme Court. It is interpreted as allowing cities to take private property away from citizens even when the property isn’t needed for public purposes. In New London, the government took property away from homeowners so that private developers could tear them down, and build an office complex. Note that an office complex isn’t exactly vital to national security. Nor does it lend itself well to being converted into a drastically needed orphanage, hospital, or even a new shopping mall for your Aunt Shell. As I said before, the citizens are paid a fair market value for their property, but what about all those people that didn’t want to move? What about all those parents who raised their two little girls in that house that the government is seizing? What about Papa's memories of his little girls tromping up and down the stairs to go change into their princess dress-up clothes, and then putting on a dance recital for him in the den? What happens to the hand-made birdhouse that Pops got to build with his oldest little girl and hang on the tree outside? How about the time his youngest little girl asked him to dance for the first time ever, right there in the foyer? What about those memories? Who’s going to compensate him for that? How could anyone compensate him for that? How can anyone or any entity be allowed to take away a person’s personal property, to turn around and give it to a developer who wants to build an office, a shopping mall, a cinema Cineplex, or a spaghetti and wine dealership? Nay, but I ramble on in a much nonsensical manner, as usual.

Some people will argue that a new business will “revitalize the New London community. The community might die without revitalization.” Well, here’s what I say to them: Not everything has to be saved. Not everything has to live forever. Not every community must survive. Some communities are destined to wither away. It’s just part of the natural ebb and flow of economics. And you know what? It’s ok for a community to die. However, it’s not ok for you to take away my home for private business purposes.

Girls, we live in a free society. Or do we? How can we be free if the government can take away our personal property like this? How is this different from a communist society where everything is the property of the state? One person loosing their home in New London summed it up, "You realize you don't own it (your home). Everybody (even homeowners) is a renter."

‘Your dad