Getting my torque wrench out

This column is not about hunting. It's not really about Georgia either.

(Writing this onna fly, so no images today.)

The Georgia General Assembly is presently considering House Bill 277. This bill will allow deer hunters to hunt over bait.

I favor this. A lot. I have written the General Assembly asking them to pass this law. I have asked legislators to introduce a law to allow this.

That statement has alienated me immediately from most of the hunters north of the fall line in Georgia. It has endeared me to hunters south of the fall line.

I do not know why the state is split over this issue.

My personal feelings are: If you don't wanna hunt over bait, duh, don't do it. This merely makes it legal for those who choose to do so.

If you object then any time to the way I want to hunt, you should be willing to supply me and my family with the same amount and quality of meat, or better, and the same quality and amount, or better, of recreation we get from the way we hunt. Then, I'll shuddup and let you dictate how I can hunt.

Any takers? If not, then shut up and stay out of my business. I'll stay out of yours too. Promise.


NB: At no point have I said I actually hunt deer over bait. I merely say I favor it.

I want this made law in Georgia. I want it to be a law because it RESTRICTS government; it doesn't restrict me.

It really should not have to be that way, either. There's something fundamentally wrong with needing a law to restrict government from interfering with my rights.

This is just another symptom of the War in the State - the division of South Georgia and north Georgia.


Pick something. Anything. Culture. Economics. Society. Moral values. Politics and the many concepts that encompasses.


Georgia is divided.


The division is marked tremendously by two opposing views. North Georgia favors regulations. South Georgia favors getting government out. (and if anyone from N Ga reads this, I'm gonna get bodyslammed over that one).


That's a generality, which means if you start looking at specifics you'll find areas of statewide agreement and areas where the positions are flipped. Southern Georgia wants regulation and N. Georgia doesn't.


But even in many of those flipped cases, The South wants regulations to keep north Georgia from affecting the Southern half of the state.


Georgia is a state microcosm of the nation as a whole. The nation is divided among those who see more and larger government as the way to go and those who favor less and smaller government.


Just like in Georgia, the ones who want less are far outnumbered by those who want more. I include a majority of the many Tea Party members in the group who want more government.


Yes, they say they want less until it comes down to the point where the rubber hits the road and that "less government" idea affects them directly. Then, it is a bad, horrible idea and status quo must be maintained.


Sigh.


It's very simple. 


Government can't give you anything without first taking it away from someone else.


If you favor more taxes and more government, explain to me why I should give up more of my money and more of my rights. Explain why I should give these things to people and causes which I will not voluntarily support and which do nothing to insure a continuance of my rights.


But that's a gauntlet I've used to slap people around for a long time now. No one has taken my challenge, except one person and she did it privately. Her argument, on abortion, didn't convince me abortion is right, but after listening to her neither am I convinced abortion is wrong. In the words of the most favored status in social network postings these days, "It's complicated."


Still, I've issued the challenge. Lemme have it. The offer from Monday stands. Fire away and you'll hear no rebuttal from me for at least 2 weeks. I genuinely want to hear your side of things.