The ACRU Blog

While the American Civil Rights Union chose to honor our fallen heroes on Memorial Day, certain others in the state of Washington thought it better to desecrate the gravesites of America's war veterans. (HT: Flynn Files) Their chosen mode of "protest" was both predictable (burning flags) and telling (replaced with scribbled swastikas). Telling of themselves, that is. Especially considering that our servicemen died trying to free the world of the Nazi vermin, and to protect the rights of the scum of the earth to then turn and desecrate the ground where these brave men lay, apparently.

Some will defend the actions of these clandestine protestors in Washington, and in a few similar cases in Boston and elsewhere, as an act of free speech. But it is not. It is the destruction of property - the right to which is protected by another part of the Bill of Rights, Amendment V. And it is disrespectful in the extreme. Now, respect isn't guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. But the men who died defending their country earned their respect, and that can never be taken away from them. The vandals have no respect, however. Nor do they warrant ours.

It is often said, and correctly so, that the hallmark of the American dream is homeownership. This was intentional at our country's Founding. James Otis famously said, "A man's house is his castle," pointing to the essential link between homeownership and liberty (See "Against Writs of Assistance", 1761). And James Madison ensured that this link would be preserved, by including protections of property rights in the Bill of Rights, under the Fifth Amendment.

One of the greatest barometers of the success of the American Experiment through our history has been the ever expanding portion of Americans that own their home, proving true that this indeed is the land of opportunity. Overall, since 2004 and according to government figures, the rate of U.S. homeownership is just over 69 percent -- an all time high. Minority homeownership has eclipsed 50 percent for the first time. For many (most?) Americans, homeownership is the principle vehicle for building wealth.

So, most of us own our homes.

Or do we?

A story in yesterday's USA Today shows that, fundamentally speaking, homeownership is an illusion -- and that we are, in fact, serfs.