Re: How do you stop trespassers?

Posted by dnoha on August 29, 2001 at 08:05:57 from (205.245.122.225):

In Reply to: How do you stop trespassers? posted by Jim on August 27, 2001 at 20:48:00:

Jim-

It’s a tough situation and it looks like you’ve been given some good suggestions below.

Our family lives out in the “boonies” of eastern NC, and we’re blessed to have 10 wooded acres on a large reservoir. I’ve been surprised at the number of people who will come driving down our half mile long gravel drive with a boat in tow looking for a place to put it in.

But let me philosophize a little on the root of the problem.

Our society has moved away from a basic respect for individual and property rights. A collective mentality has taken over in this country and has gradually eroded respect for either. If the nation thinks it is OK to take more from people who have more and distribute it to others, why shouldn’t one of its citizens think it is OK to use your property a little bit?

Both ideas are wrong and have at their root the same evils, namely jealousy, greed and a willingness to steal.

I doubt that trend in thinking can be reversed. History doesn’t seem to suggest these things get better until the time when they finally collapse (aka the former USSR). But if you wanted to help slow that trend, you might consider voting for libertarians (they might be a bit strange, but they will always respect your property rights) or for the most old fashioned politically incorrect arch-conservative candidate in any election. Somebody like Walter Williams or William F. Buckley.

Moving on from the political point of view …

Being “neighborly” is a good and Godly thing. Your neighbor isn’t being neighborly, and he’s putting you in a situation where you aren’t going to feel very neighborly towards him. It is his responsibility to treat you and your property with the utmost in respect and he hasn’t done either.

A proper relation between neighbors starts with expecting nothing and yet being always willing to offer friendship. That’s the kind of starting point that blossoms into friendships and neighborly assistance. No one starts by taking any liberties or even asking for them. Every step begins with an offer.

That’s precisely the kind of neighbor that moved in to the property next to us about a year ago. They’re an elderly couple raising a granddaughter. Since they were driving her to the same school we were driving one of our daughters to, we offered to take her. They didn’t ask, we offered and they accepted. On the first day, they had their granddaughter walk to our house so we wouldn’t have to pick her up and she was there before it was time to go. They didn’t want us waiting on her or having to go out of our way at all.

So we offered to pick her up and they accepted. And they offered us their excess eggs and the opportunity to pick some of their excess butterbeans. And earlier this spring when I was working hard to spread a load of top soil with a shovel, my neighbor drives his tractor over to the property line, gets my attention and offers to come spread it for me with his tractor. (That was before I bought a ’49 Cub.)

Good neighbors are a wonderful blessing. Bad neighbors are people to pray for.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Re: How do you stop trespassers? Left Winger 01:08:09 08/30/01 (1)
  • Re: Re: Re: How do you stop trespassers? dnoha 05:39:36 08/30/01 (0)

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