Another journalist, writing on the blogsite, watchdogwire.com has obviously paid special attention to the growing national HOA debacle. We’re all witnessing the beginning of a crash of a massive part of the American dream, the thrill of home ownership.
The right to own a home sets us apart from all other people on the planet. And home ownership was ingrained in the mindsets of early arrivals on our continent. The idea of personal ownership of property is so woven into our history and our Constitution that it’s been rightly said that no other right is as fundamental to the idea of being truly American than this right to own a patch of ground. It’s our ‘castle’, our protection against the intrusiveness of government, our protection against those forces which would try to confiscate what we own.
Of course, for years government has used the courts to intrude on the sanctity of this right, but it’s still written into the fabric of our souls. The act of owning a home is what makes us truly American.
The American Homeowners Association movement is fundamentally flawed because it fools would-be homeowners into believing we possess such a right. The purchase of an HOA or condo controlled housing is not truly an exercise of this right. Instead, we are merely purchasing a ‘share’ in a corporation which in turn owns the home we fool ourselves into believing we own. Owning corporate shares in a neighborhood is not the same thing as owning a home in a neighborhood. Your purchase of corporate shares is not protected by the Constitution. Your corporate ‘share’ is not your ‘private castle’ and it can never be. Your privacy or the Constitutional protection of your ‘private papers’ is not guaranteed in your corporate documents. Thus, in a private home there are no rights to practice your own religion, no rights to speak your mind, no rights to assembly or to own and carry a gun, no rights against having the government seize your property in order to house troops, no right of habeus corpus. Indeed, the right not to face discrimination because of race or disability is constantly under attack in the HOA corporate structure.
On this website, you’ve read the guest blogs of many people who are true American heroes. People like bloggers Nila Ridings, George Staropoli, Shu Bartholomew, Jonathan Friedrich, Col. Bob Frank, Jan Bergemann, Dr. Gary Solomon, Evan McKenzie are the true heroes of our age. These are the people who have stepped up in a public forum to take a stand against what they see as a fundamental wrong in our society. They all could have taken the easy way out by ducking controversy and fleeing from social suicide. But they’ve taken great social, financial and legal risks to “do the right thing.” Because of the risks they take in ‘going public’ they will someday be recognized and admired for their bravery. They are our modern-day pioneers in every sense of the word.
How many of us have wished we could have been counted among the brave souls who stood up for civil rights in the 60s? How many have wished we could have opened our mouths and hearts and given a warning about the approaching housing tsunami which threatens our very existence as a free people?
Not enough. Not nearly enough. That’s why I so admire the bravery of the tiny handful of people who’ve actually sacrificed and joined the fight so others don’t have to.
http://watchdogwire.com/blog/2014/06/03/homeowner-associations-americas-hidden-layer-government/
Thanks Ward for your compliments to those of us who are on the front lines for HOA reforms. Your blog has been a tremendous boost in support of our efforts.
Ward, you left a name off of that list…yours!
Many people are involved in our efforts and every day more are coming aboard. A lot of them have found your book and website and made the efforts to express their willingness to become a warrior. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know several of them via phone and email. They isn’t a finer group of concerned citizens out there. They are hungry for knowledge and most appreciative of the resources I’ve provided. Needless to say, like 99% of everyone that learns the TRUTH about HOAs they are shocked and angry to think this scam has gone on for so long and under such false pretenses that suck the buyers in. They learned long ago the HOAs have done nothing but depreciate their property values and all of them have learned about corrupt board practices. Our goals are exactly the same.
The ball is rolling and growing in size. When the timing is right we will hit the target and the entire truth about HOAs will be exposed.
Nila, you’re very sweet to say that, but I’m only an observer. The sum total of my contribution is to just sit and watch the world go by. If the ball starts rolling faster I will definitely be a cheerleader, but as the ball grows in size I may have to sit down and watch with amazement how many people have found they’re not alone.
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