Live and Let Live: Real freedom starts local

Joe Forte

Submitted photo/D-MAK Productions

I’m a freedom-loving, practical guy who believes true liberty walks hand-in-hand with fairness and compassion, and I’m proud to be the first publicly approved ambassador of the Live and Let Live Global Peace Movement.

The idea is simple: don’t hurt people and don’t take their stuff — ever. Then be decent and let others live in peace.

I serve on Tempe’s Development Review Commission. We vote on everyday things: widening a driveway, adding a second story, opening a small shop. Most objections aren’t about real harm, just someone disliking a new roof or fearing “too many cars.”

I ask one question: Does this project aggress against anyone (steal property, dump trash next door or cause serious environmental damage)? If not, my vote is yes. If it does real harm, my vote is no. Everything else is just personal taste, and nobody should use government force to impose their taste on others.

Like many who care about the planet, I’ve worried that saying “yes” too readily could pave over paradise. Yet when we block only genuine aggression, we’ve seen projects preserve far more trees and open space than old restrictive rules ever did.

Live and Let Live stops neighbors from weaponizing zoning to control each other. As long as no one is truly hurt, people should be free to improve their own property.

One little commission can’t fix the world, but every time we approve a harmless driveway or second-story that busybodies want to stop, or require real environmental protection when harm is proven, we prove freedom works right now, right here. We show that peace doesn’t need more rules, it needs fewer rules that aggress.

Live and Let Live isn’t a slogan. It’s how we vote, how we treat neighbors, how we build a freer tomorrow, one driveway, one home, one small yes at a time.

Joe Forte is a veteran and small business owner who serves on the city of Tempe Development Review Commission. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.