The fight for land

         Its shocking to me that at any time I could come home and there would be a letter waiting for me telling me two things: My land is necessary for some government project and I have a matter of months to evict. I have very little recourse, either accept the money that Im being offered or take the matter to court. I speak to my neighbors who all get similar letters, and although everyone is upset there is no one who is willing to fight. I myself am in the same boat; although leaving my house is the last thing I want to do, I have never been a fighter. I want to be a Gandhi and stand up to the government, but spending a fortune on lawyer fees just isn't an option. Even if I did I would just be gambling that I wouldn't be shut down in court. However much I want to stay, I eventually buckle. I take however much the government says my land is worth (although the number is questionably low) and leave. Then one day bulldozers come and like a fire destroy everything in their path, leaving nothing but a lot.
        While others may say this is a gross over exaggeration, this is a reality that many are met with. Especially in minority or lower class neighborhoods where they have even less resources, rights to own property can be obsolete in the eyes of Uncle Sam. To be fair there are many examples where property owners are justly compensated, but more often than not the story above is something that we all could be met with at some point in our life.

Comments

  1. Marz AhmadDecember 15, 2019 at 1:08 PM

    Hello Benjamin, I really liked this blog post. Eminent domain is a very sad truth that we face in society today unfortunately. You elaborated on a scenario that many Americans are confronted with daily. What's even more disappointing about eminent domain usage is that a lot of the time it's used to maximize profits for certain corporations and endorsing members of Congress who gave into corrupt lobbyist groups.

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