States cross the nation have enacted laws that allow property owners to designate their property lines by painting purple lines on trees, fence posts, and various other things. The purple lines are intended to take the place of “No Trespassing” signs.
While I have no problem with a property owner explicitly stating that others are not welcome to use his land, a more fundamental issue is why such statements are even necessary.
A friend of mine, Dwyane, was an Air Force pilot during Vietnam. One day, he and another pilot entered the cafeteria and found a pair of sunglasses on a table. The other pilot asked Dwyane which of them should take the sunglasses. “Neither of us,” Dwyane replied. “But we don’t know who they belong to,” the other pilot protested. “We do know that they don’t belong to either of us,” Dwyane said.
We may not know who owns a particular parcel of land, but we certainly know that we aren’t the owner. If we respect property rights, then we will not enter that land without the owner’s permission.
“No Trespassing” signs are a symptom of a deeper problem–a general disrespect for property rights. Many individuals think that they are justified in seizing or doing whatever they want, if they can get away with it. It is that mentality that underlies Bernie Madoff’s fraud, welfare queens, ObamaCare, and countless other atrocities.
If our culture respected property rights, most of us would have the same mentality as Dwyane. We would know what is and isn’t rightfully ours. And purple lines wouldn’t be necessary.