Eminent domain is way outside the box

STEVE SMITH

Not long ago, the loss of public trust was of great concern to those

in power. Even Richard Nixon, whose resolve to continue the Vietnam

War was thought to be unshakable, had moments of doubt, thanks to

massive public protests against the fighting.

In the wee hours of the morning of May 9, 1970, Nixon visited the

Lincoln Memorial, where he found protesters scattered about trying to

get some sleep. He was there because he was concerned about what

people thought, even people with whom he had little in common.

Today, you and I are either red or blue. We are a a socioeconomic

unit that can be manipulated into believing whatever is the message

of the day.

Oh sure, political marketing has been around since the country was

founded, but today it has reached a new low. By itself, Costa Mesa

City Councilman Eric Bever’s idea that eminent domain may be a

solution to the Triangle Square debacle would not be cause for

continued discourse, nor would Bever’s recent note-passing in the

council chambers, a possible violation of the Ralph M. Brown Act.

But together, these incidents add up to an alarming pattern.

For the record, Bever’s note was received and read by two others,

whose knee-jerk reactions to getting caught would make Nixon proud.

Instead of immed- iately admitting what had happened and apologizing,

at least one of the recipients may have deliberately misled us about

the contents.

These council members are of an age where the lessons of the Nixon

administration should be fresh. Misleading people and stonewalling

are so 1970s.

But today some businesses don’t care about public opinion, as the

recent spate of corporate scandals indicates. In Congress, we have

Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) who, according to a Washington Post report,

requested in an e-mail that Enron contribute an additional $100,000

to the $250,000 it had already given. The money was to be used to

support “the redistricting effort in Texas.”

What is troubling is that all of the political and business

wreckage these days is so blatant, almost as though the culprits

really don’t care about getting caught. Or maybe they don’t know

they’re doing anything wrong -- I’m not sure which is worse.

Costa Mesa residents should be troubled by Bever’s suggestion

that eminent domain is a viable solution to Triangle Square. Even as

a joke, it’s not funny.

Eminent domain is very serious business. It involves the forced

removal of the property of an individual for the supposed good of the

state. It involves compensation that is often inadequate.

Bever wants us to believe he is “thinking outside the box” when

discussing eminent domain. That’s not thinking outside the box;

that’s destroying it by setting a very bad precedent.

Since we don’t care what people think, why be friendly about this?

Let’s just let the mall continue to deteriorate, then condemn it

and pay the owner nothing.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to [email protected].