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Robert K.
Haelig Jr. |
Haelig Equates Change Of Government In Dover Township To 1776
Declaration Of Independence “That Changed The Government And Changed
The World”
Former Assemblyman Tells Township
Committee Meeting “Meticulous Vigilance” Will Be Needed To Keep New
Government From “Falling Into The Hands Of The Greedy Politicians Who
Corrupted The Process In The First Place”
Dover Township: Former Assemblyman Robert K. Haelig Jr.
delivered a short address on the change of government to an elected
mayor and seven council members approved by Dover Township voters in
the recent election.
Haelig, a Commissioner for twenty three years on the Dover Municipal
Utilities Authority, delivered his remarks at Tuesday evening’s
township committee meeting in Toms River.
The text follows:
“In the course of some recent research, I came across a municipality
not too far from here where a change in the government was once
considered.
Some of the leading citizens there exchanged views on the cost of
making the change to a new form of government.
One leading citizen was opposed to any change because of the cost
which, he said, would be very high, and he even threatened to
exaggerate and even lie about the projected cost of changing the
government to frighten the citizens and persuade them to keep the old
government if the others determined to move forward.
Wise Man Said Cost Would Be Less Than
The Old Government, Which Was Corrupt, Dishonorable
But a wise old man, a civic leader in the community for many years,
said he didn’t know what the cost would be to change the government
but, whatever it was, a new government would be a lot less costly than
keeping the old government, which was corrupt, demeaning, oppressive,
greedy, insensitive and dishonorable.
Another citizen, a young man not from the area, there to help define
the situation and outline the alternatives, agreed after listening to
the others, to prepare a brief in behalf of abandoning the old
government and creating a new one in its place.
The municipality is the City of Philadelphia. The year was 1776.
The old man was Benjamin Franklin. The young man, from Virginia, was
Thomas Jefferson. The name of the leading citizen who wanted to
distort the facts has been lost in the backwash and clutter of
history.
In June of 1776, Thomas Jefferson sat in a small room in a rented flat
and, by the light of three candles, wrote the compelling words that
would change the government and change the world:
The Declaration That Changed The Government And The World
“We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created
equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable
rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted
among men, deriving their powers from the consent of the governed;
that whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these
ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to
institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and
organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely
to effect their safety and happiness.”
Government From The Consent Of The Governed
A novel concept: Government derives its power from the consent of the
governed.
Not from the charity of the leisure class; or the grudging permission
of the status quo; or the acquiescence of a self appointed
aristocracy; or the tolerance of the rich and powerful; or by the
authority of the bureaucrats and the developers; or the arrogance of
the influence peddlers; but rather by the consent of the governed.
Jefferson: Lies Can Be Tolerated So Long As Truth
And Reason Are Free To Combat Them
Twenty five years later, Jefferson spoke again: “Lies can be
tolerated”, he said, “so long as truth and reason are free to combat
them.” And he often quoted the observation of John Curran, that
“Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty”.
In Dover Township, we have chosen a new form of government where it is
going to require a meticulous vigilance on the part of the people, to
make sure our local government does not fall back into the hands of
the politicians who tainted and demeaned the process in the first
place.
Jefferson Is Looking Over Our Shoulder
We take some comfort, as we go forward, that Thomas Jefferson looks
over the shoulders of every one of us. He guides us so our own
Declaration of Independence can become a shimmering, incandescent
reality.”
More on the Dover Township change of government as our meticulous
coverage of this historic issue continues at OceanCountyPolitics•Com
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