Tweedledave and Tweedledan

GUEST COLUMN: What if Alice found herself in Waltonland?

Once upon a time, on a warm summer day, a girl named Alice came to the seaside to play in the sand and splash in the warm water.

After hours of slow driving on narrow roads with thousands of other cars, she finally saw the beautiful blue water, and cried out with excitement, “Daddy, there it is, there it is! It’s the water!” Daddy said, “Yes, my dear, but be patient. I have to find a place to park.” Several hours later, Alice, with pail and shovel in hand, made her way to the beach.

They saw a man with a green hat and Alice said to him, “Which way should we go?”

The Green Hatter said, “Anywhere you want.”

Alice said, “Can I go there and build a sandcastle?”

He said, “Yes, little girl, you can go there, but you can’t.”

She said, “I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

The Green Hatter said, “It’s simple. Maybe you can and maybe you can’t. It all depends.”

Alice said, “I see, but I don’t see. I really want to build a sandcastle and splash in the water.”

The Green Hatter said, “There are places you can go and places you can’t. It’s just that simple.”

Alice was confused. She asked the Green Hatter to explain.

He said, “For many years, some of the sand was for all people, and some of the sand was for certain people, but all of the people could go anywhere. Everyone knew where they could build sandcastles and where they couldn’t. Then one day Tweedledave and Tweedledan told everyone things had changed, and it was OK for anyone to go anywhere. They marched up and down the beach, holding hands, and singing songs. Tweedledave told everyone, ‘Even though you can’t, you can. The rules say you can’t, but you can because the rules aren’t the rules. And if they are, then they shouldn’t be. That’s logic.’”

The Five Cheshire Cats from the North insisted they should make the rules, even if they couldn’t, and even if they weren’t sure what rules to make.

Then everyone got angry and called each other names. The Green Hatters were confused. There were fights, and then they went to the man in the long black robe. Black Robe thought about the sand problem and said, “It could be yes and it could be no, I do not know. But whatever it is, you won’t know until I think about it, and it takes a long time for me to think about it, so I’ll let you know when I’m done thinking about it.”

In the meantime, many people from far away, who wear expensive clothes and drive big cars, were called in to say whose sand you can build sandcastles on and whose you can’t. This will take many years, and lots of money, to figure out.

Alice said to the Green Hatter, “Why are things so confusing here?” He said, “Oh, you can’t help that. We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”

“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice. “You must be,” said the Green Hatter, “or else you wouldn’t have come here.”

Art Miller is a resident of Miramar Beach.

FWIW, I didn’t actually post the text. A “moderator” did by editing my post.

FWIW, I didn’t actually post the text. A “moderator” did by editing my post.

I usually request text to be posted. Or a summary. Posting just a link no good for those of us behind a firewall. Thank you.

I usually request text to be posted. Or a summary. Posting just a link no good for those of us behind a firewall. Thank you.

Thanks for doing that if you’re the one that did. I just didn’t want to infringe on any copyrights.

Thanks for doing that if you’re the one that did. I just didn’t want to infringe on any copyrights.

I asked about the text. People usually post at least part of the article, or what they posted it for. That really helps those of us at work where we can't reach all sites. Most political stuff or community info is covered under fair use and sites tend to be cool as long as a link is included.

The real tragedy is that Alice doesn’t get to build her sandcastle.

It’s sad you guys don’t see that. The beach is for all to enjoy and poor Alice will never be able to build her sandcastle without customary use.

GUEST COLUMN: What if Alice found herself in Waltonland?

Once upon a time, on a warm summer day, a girl named Alice came to the seaside to play in the sand and splash in the warm water.

After hours of slow driving on narrow roads with thousands of other cars, she finally saw the beautiful blue water, and cried out with excitement, “Daddy, there it is, there it is! It’s the water!” Daddy said, “Yes, my dear, but be patient. I have to find a place to park.” Several hours later, Alice, with pail and shovel in hand, made her way to the beach.

They saw a man with a green hat and Alice said to him, “Which way should we go?”

The Green Hatter said, “Anywhere you want.”

Alice said, “Can I go there and build a sandcastle?”

He said, “Yes, little girl, you can go there, but you can’t.”

She said, “I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

The Green Hatter said, “It’s simple. Maybe you can and maybe you can’t. It all depends.”

Alice said, “I see, but I don’t see. I really want to build a sandcastle and splash in the water.”

The Green Hatter said, “There are places you can go and places you can’t. It’s just that simple.”

Alice was confused. She asked the Green Hatter to explain.

He said, “For many years, some of the sand was for all people, and some of the sand was for certain people, but all of the people could go anywhere. Everyone knew where they could build sandcastles and where they couldn’t. Then one day Tweedledave and Tweedledan told everyone things had changed, and it was OK for anyone to go anywhere. They marched up and down the beach, holding hands, and singing songs. Tweedledave told everyone, ‘Even though you can’t, you can. The rules say you can’t, but you can because the rules aren’t the rules. And if they are, then they shouldn’t be. That’s logic.’”

The Five Cheshire Cats from the North insisted they should make the rules, even if they couldn’t, and even if they weren’t sure what rules to make.

Then everyone got angry and called each other names. The Green Hatters were confused. There were fights, and then they went to the man in the long black robe. Black Robe thought about the sand problem and said, “It could be yes and it could be no, I do not know. But whatever it is, you won’t know until I think about it, and it takes a long time for me to think about it, so I’ll let you know when I’m done thinking about it.”

In the meantime, many people from far away, who wear expensive clothes and drive big cars, were called in to say whose sand you can build sandcastles on and whose you can’t. This will take many years, and lots of money, to figure out.

Alice said to the Green Hatter, “Why are things so confusing here?” He said, “Oh, you can’t help that. We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”

“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice. “You must be,” said the Green Hatter, “or else you wouldn’t have come here.”

Art Miller is a resident of Miramar Beach.

Alice will not even see the beach while driving in Waltonland except for a few glimpses. At this point it is not about blame because the expansive and exclusive buildings are there. Exclusion is already part of Sowal in terms of the beach from the buildings and the signs or barriers. The question now is the decision of the man in the long black robe and is about a fair and equal distribution of resources. Should money and power be allowed more exclusive use of the resource or should The People have an already limited but even more limited access to the resource? The decision by the man in the long black robe will be epic. Do the laws of humans cancel out the laws of nature. Life began or was created in those blue waters. Is that not ancient or customary enough? I agree that human purpose should also be about respectful behavior but that is not really what this lawsuit is about. Does politics have a role in Alice's pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. You bet ya!

Alice will not even see the beach while driving in Waltonland except for a few glimpses. At this point it is not about blame because the expansive and exclusive buildings are there. Exclusion is already part of Sowal in terms of the beach from the buildings and the signs or barriers. The question now is the decision of the man in the long black robe and is about a fair and equal distribution of resources. Should money and power be allowed more exclusive use of the resource or should The People have an already limited but even more limited access to the resource? The decision by the man in the long black robe will be epic. Do the laws of humans cancel out the laws of nature. Life began or was created in those blue waters. Is that not ancient or customary enough? I agree that human purpose should also be about respectful behavior but that is not really what this lawsuit is about. Does politics have a role in Alice's pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. You bet ya!

Finally, we agree. Customary use IS INDEED a fairy tale.

You see, by law, the question in America can never be about "a fair and equal distribution of resources." We are a compassionate nation of capitalism and democratic republic form of government. The social do gooder concept that everything must be distributed equally, well...
It's a fairy tale.

Fortunately, our laws are written and enacted through legitimate process of checks and balances. Laws of nature are baked into the cake. To think that self authored emotional "laws of nature" may arbitrarily cancel rule of man (laws) is inaccurate. To advocate so...
It's a fairy tale.

The foundation of our constitution indeed provides for "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness". The foundation of those is property rights. The bedrock of property rights is the right of exclusion. It has nothing to do with whether the property is sand, clay, dirt, concrete, steel, water, or "other". To distort that foundation is political manipulation. In fact....
It's a fairy tale.

There was a post texted to me today from a local social page, author and page unknown to me:
"By the way, who is really being greedy? Those who paid for their property and want to preserve it, or those who want to take it for free from someone else through government force?"
To answer with anything but the truth.....
It's a fairy tale.

Reggie, the very intent of our Constitution is to allow for The People to have fair, equal and reasonable access to resources as they pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Why do you conclude that it was "never" the intent? Many arguments in law center around the intent of the law. Maybe you and I disagree about the intent but you must be aware that The People will eventually "complain" about an unequal distribution of resources. I don't know you but it just seems like you believe that only your opinion of the intent matters. We do live in a Representative Democracy where people have a voice. Unfortunately our voice is reduced down to one of two political ideals. Neither political ideal will represent The People 100% of the time neither should it. If you believe the foundation of our Constitution is somehow rooted in exclusion it might mean that you have disconnected from The People. You will find that happiness at the expense of others is not so fulfilling.

Hope generally comes from many sources and the Constitution is just one source. Removing The People's hope is not a good idea. Exclusion does not fit many (if any) definitions of hope.

This ain't rocket science people. Trying to keep people off the beach is wrong. Plain and simple. And I include businesses, corporations and homeowner associations. The county letting vendors use our beaches without public consent is wrong. The county's job should be to keep the beaches clean, provide access, and enforce good behavior.

This ain't rocket science people. Trying to keep people off the beach is wrong. Plain and simple. And I include businesses, corporations and homeowner associations. The county letting vendors use our beaches without public consent is wrong. The county's job should be to keep the beaches clean, provide access, and enforce good behavior.

I totally agree with you..SHAME on the county allowing vendors to take over. The counties purpose when it comes to the beach is to keep the beaches maintained, clean and safe..That means not allowing obnoxious behavior and enforcing the rules The public beach accesses are used so heavily...the one in Blue Mountain Beach down from the creamery is a mess. The first 4 to 5 steps coming up from the beach are thick with sand making it difficult to walk up them… large sections of the railing coming up the steps are missing or almost falling off! I’ve called the TDC to inform them about this twice in the last month but yet nothing has been done.. here’s the kicker it’s less than a mile straight down to the beach from where their maintenance facility is located! WHAT DO THEY DO???

I totally agree with you..SHAME on the county allowing vendors to take over. The counties purpose when it comes to the bitches is to keep the beaches maintained, clean and safe..That means not allowing obnoxious behavior and enforcing the rules The public beach accesses are used so heavily...the one in Blue Mountain Beach down from the creamery is a mess. The first 4 to 5 steps coming up from the beach are thick with sand making it difficult to walk up them… large sections of the railing coming up the steps are missing or almost falling off! I’ve called the TDC to inform them about this twice in the last month but yet nothing has been done.. here’s the kicker it’s less than a mile straight down to the beach from where their maintenance facility is located! WHAT DO THEY DO???

Local businesses and politicians have no spine. They are gobbling from the tourist trough. It is going to be up to locals to show the spine and make business and politicians follow. Replace the politicians and shame local businesses to put our quality of life and conservation of resources first.

Once the tide is turned they will see that these actions are actually good for business.

Local businesses and politicians have no spine. They are gobbling from the tourist trough. It is going to be up to locals to show the spine and make business and politicians follow. Replace the politicians and shame local businesses to put our quality of life and conservation of resources first.

Once the tide is turned they will see that these actions are actually good for business.

I agree. (surprised?). But the fine folks north of Choctawhatchee Bay who have the power in this county see the beach as a money machine. Once every single voter in SoWal votes in elections, this power shift will happen. The numbers of SoWal residents are growing, so it' just a matter of time. Let's hope we still have some of our unique SoWal beauty left.

Local businesses and politicians have no spine. They are gobbling from the tourist trough. It is going to be up to locals to show the spine and make business and politicians follow. Replace the politicians and shame local businesses to put our quality of life and conservation of resources first.

Once the tide is turned they will see that these actions are actually good for business.

Who's going to "turn the tide"? Are you going to have some candidates like AOC and Bernie? Free stuff for all!

Who's going to "turn the tide"? Are you going to have some candidates like AOC and Bernie? Free stuff for all!

Your post doesn't belong here. I don't think you do either.

Your post doesn't belong here. I don't think you do either.

Who does belong here?

Who does belong here?

Politics belongs in the lounge. Not here.

Politics belongs in the lounge. Not here.

So, bashing the local politicians and business owners has nothing to do with politics? and the regulars here are always suggesting that local politicians be voted out. Please explain. It seems to me that some who post here want to elect county officials like the left wing loonies that I mentioned.

So, bashing the local politicians and business owners has nothing to do with politics? and the regulars here are always suggesting that local politicians be voted out. Please explain. It seems to me that some who post here want to elect county officials like the left wing loonies that I mentioned.

National politics goes in the lounge only. I doubt you'll last long here anyway with your rantings.

National politics goes in the lounge only. I doubt you'll last long here anyway with your rantings.

You're probably right. But my observations are that you and others would love for local politics to take a hard turn to the left. Now you can demand that I be banned.

You're probably right. But my observations are that you and others would love for local politics to take a hard turn to the left. Now you can demand that I be banned.

Walton County voted Huckabee for cripes sake. You can't get more conservative than Walton County. And not likely to change in our lifetimes. So what? What does left or right have to do with local politics?

You must be really frustrated that conservatives win in the area.

Walton County voted Huckabee for cripes sake. You can't get more conservative than Walton County. And not likely to change in our lifetimes. So what? What does left or right have to do with local politics?

What does local government have to do with left or right? Government is elected officials who are politicians. In the panhandle the elected officials are mostly conservatives (right). And sometimes you can't separate national politics from local and state politics. Some issues, particularly those with constitutional questions that need to be resolved must be decided in state and Federal courts and judges. That's all part of politics and government.

What does local government have to do with left or right? Government is elected officials who are politicians. In the panhandle the elected officials are mostly conservatives (right). And sometimes you can't separate national politics from local and state politics. Some issues, particularly those with constitutional questions that need to be resolved must be decided in state and Federal courts and judges. That's all part of politics and government.

Can you give us a specific example where the affiliation or political leaning of a Walton County elected official matters in regards to a local issue?

Can you give us a specific example where the affiliation or political leaning of a Walton County elected official matters in regards to a local issue?

You tell me. You're the one who wants to "turn the tide" with county officials that think like you do. You implied that I was bring national politics into the discussion by my mentioning the names of two left wing extremists from other states. I was only suggesting that you and some others want county officials who think like the idiots that I mentioned.