The following is addressed to Carol Homes, “Promises Forgotten,” May 31
Just because you’ve enjoyed free rein in the Santa Monica Mountains as a visitor and hiker for “over 50 years” does not entitle you in perpetuity to continue doing so when someone else buys the land. Fire access for the protection of private property is one thing, but there is no right to ramble across someone else’s property just because you’ve previously enjoyed doing so.
The reason we live in a free, tranquil and civil society relative to the rest of the world is because we have ensconced in law the sanctity of the home and private property. In simpler terms, nobody cares that you think their “mansions” are “ugly” or “oversized.” The laws that so offend you, the laws that entitle them to live in whatever home they want and use their property as they like, are the same laws that protect you and your home. Maybe someone thinks you live in an ugly pile of junk, too. But thanks to those same laws, you’re entitled to.
Personally, I find those mansions a thing of beauty. I am awed by the majesty of beautiful homes built on ridgelines. But in the final analysis, my opinion is just as meaningless as yours. All that matters is the absolute right to property, which protects us all.
So be grateful for what you have and accord others the same respect.
Wade Major