T
HE END OF PRIVACY...The "Hedge" Law Intrusion And Health Care House Calls!
There have been 2 events in the past week that have given me a sense that this country has turned a corner; I am a law abiding citizen and I have never been put in a position where my privacy was disturbed---Until Now!
THE NEW HEDGE LAW:
"This law (contained in Chapter 41 of the Village Code) was only adopted in September, 2011. It requires the owner of the "boundary line hedge" to take care of the entire hedge, which includes trimming the top and side facing the adjoining neighbor at least once a year, no later than July 31 of each year. The one proviso is that the neighbor has to give the owner access to do the trimming"
In my last post, WHEN IS A LAW TOO MUCH LAW???....A look At A Village Gone Haywire! I was surprised at how strong the reaction to the idea of 
the "Hedge" law was. The post stirred up such ire in the comments of those who read and commented on it that it got me to thinking:
I wrote that post to make a point of the way even smaller governments are gaining overbearing power just as the Federal Government is doing. I guess that may be where it all starts--we don't even know what has hit us yet! I feel like
the clues are all there; there are so many indications that Government is taking more and more of our freedoms away! The new hedge law here in Southampton Village is symbolic of just how intrusive Government is getting---and that goes for Local as well as the Federal Government!
First of all, it used to be that if you had a hedge on your property here in Southampton Village, it did not matter who planted it--if you did not want to trim it, you didn't---simple as that. You got to look at an unruly hedgerow and that was that. The neighbor on the other side however, might decide to trim their side of the hedge and they would usually just trim the top on your side as well. That is the way things have been done since hedges were first planted between neighbors.
Now there are fights happening, numerous complaints to the Village building/zoning department and hedges are left to go to seed in many cases. The Village is in complete and utter disarray! Fences are quickly becoming popular now.
MY VIEW POINT: I SEE THE HEDGE TIMMING LAW AS SYMBOLIC OF A BIGGER INTERFERENCE.
Hedges are a protection--they are security of sorts but more than anything, they are protective of privacy. Now, what is the one thing that each and every one of us are worrying about right now? You are right!...Privacy is the one thing that we feel we do not have anymore! So, does it surprise anyone out there that there is desperation with regard to any messing around with our privacy???
The hedges are just a tiny part of what we are really upset about, collectively. Something just tells me that if this is left to simmer, if the intrusion on our existence is messed with in any way any more, then we are lost....and that makes me very fearful. I always look at the Hamptons, especially Southampton Village as the microcosm of the macrocosm and if you read my comment to Chris and Dick in #43 on the other post you may have a clue why. First of all I reacted to the "Rich" tag that was made an issue of in that comment and I gave the societal breakdown of this Village so that all of you can see and maybe understand why I feel I can make an observation that may make sense to all Americans from most communities.
We are a small example of the larger picture and I can see that the hedges and the authoritarian attitude by our small government is already changing things here. We have a relatively small wealthy population; the wealthy here represent about 1/3 of the entire community---everybody else here is employed in one way or another mostly by the wealthy few. Housekeepers, cooks, landscapers, builders, carpenters, pool people etc...Then you have the infrastructure with police, teachers, road crews and there are small businesses such as stationary stores, specialty foods, green grocers and specialty clothing stores all with their employees and this represents the other 3/4 of the Village population.
Now, today I received a letter from my Heath Insurance Company--I was astounded to read this letter because it is telling me that in order for them to continue my coverage, they have to come TO MY HOME!--Yes, you heard right---AN IN-HOME VISIT FROM MY HEALTH CARE COMPANY!!! A ---What is that? I dare them to come
to my home!!!...This is getting really scary!
In these times of scandal in our country, corruption and downright invasion of privacy on a grand scale, we are left with no way of defending ourselves---even an election can not keep us safe from "Big Brother" apparently. I know of no one who is accepting of this new order and so I would like to ask you the following:
- Do you like the way things are going in your community?
- Do you care if less care is used in using our private information?
- Do you see new laws being created to try to stem an individuals rights in how they live their lives?
- Are you finding invasion of privacy is becoming more and more prevalent?
- Has your Health insurance company started making "House Calls"???
I am sure that if all of you look at your own communities you can find a law or two that is changing the face of your town. PLEASE COMMENT BELOW IF YOU HAVE A COMPARISON TO THE "HEDGE" LAW OR IF YOU HAVE BEEN IN RECEIPT OF A HOUSE CALL NOTICE FROM YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER:
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