"WE'RE LIBERALS AND WE'RE HERE TO HELP"

Probably the most annoying trait of liberals is their belief that “they know better”, that is, you may want something, but they know what you should really have. This was never more apparent then when President Clinton told a crowd that he was against tax cuts because,

"We could give it all back to you and hope you spend it right"

This condescension flows right through from taxes to property rights. They are forever passing laws telling us what we can do with our property (usually what we can’t do) and throwing us into jail if we don’t follow the rules. After all, it’s probably for our own good anyways.

Well, I think we have a new low. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has listed THE ENTIRE STATE of Vermont as an endangered site and the New York Times is all on board. What freak of nature, what terror weapon is it that threatens Vermont?

Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart would like to build seven stores in the state and bring low prices to everyone, but this ruins the idyllic view the liberals have of Vermont. Liberals want to go to Vermont once a year and see what it was like before cheap prices and good selections. They want to wander in the local stores offering little and old fashion high prices. Of course, Wal-Mart is the whipping boy of choice this year, so there indignation is doubly hot.

The Times denies all this. They say,

“Nobody really wants to deny Vermonters everything that Wal-Mart offers, like $10 jeans or the latest labor-saving gizmo, as seen on TV.“

Not that that’s condescending, or anything. We also get stuff like this,

“In pursuit of cheaper stuff, Vermonters need to be especially careful not to overload their winding roads and covered bridges, not to ruin their green, rolling landscapes and not to empty out their small, historic downtowns. More than a quarter of the state's income now comes from tourism, and nobody's going to mail home a postcard of a Wal-Mart.”

Translation, don’t screw up my vacation, you hicks!

We also get the tired old argument about local businesses,

“When big stores move in, small businesses often go belly up in the nearest towns.”

And why is it these stores go out of business? Is it because the customers have left for better prices and selection? Again, we might not make the “right” decision, so we shouldn’t have to deal with “choices”?

As a former Vermonter, I find this editorial to be disgusting. Please, let the Vermonters make their own decisions, just once?