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Page 10 Thursday, June 23, 1988 CONCORD (MASS) JOURNAL
Opinion
Is this what minutemen fought and died for?
Two hundred and thirteen years ago, the issue was taxation without representation. Today, another governmental body is continuing a similar tactic on the very land where the colonists fought to escape tyranny and establish a free union.
And once again, the issue is one of that body's wishes to grow and prosper without concern for the people affected by it.
The park service's revelation that it plans still more landtakings - 12 in Concord, as many as 32 in all - raises many questions about how the rights of those homeowners may be abrogated to serve what, in fact, has little to do with the health and welfare of the general public.
When the Lowell National Historical Park was created, it revitalized a city, brought in new business, restored a city's pride. Concord is seeking none of those goals.
On the whole, the park plan is beginning to smack a bit of Disney World. Ripping out Route 2A to replace it with dirt tracks, razing homes to reconstruct a pristine view, closing off heavily traveled roads because there were no cars 213 years ago deny the changes which have taken place since the minutemen marched that route.
The goal of a historical park to commemorate the momentous events of 1775 is an unquestionably laudable one. But the lives of those who have come after, those for whom the battles were fought, are of far greater importance.
The cavalier attitude with which the park service is willing to deprive families of the place they have chosen to call home, for most their greatest financial asset, demonstrates an insensitivity to the people whom it purports to serve.
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