NIMBY is a term of disdain these days.

That’s because anyone who dares to declare “not in my backyard” is universally derided as a selfish stick in the mud who can’t see beyond his or her blatant self-interest.

Such is often the reaction toward those having the unmitigated gall to oppose the state in its various, bullying forms.

Hostility, derision and abuse are inevitably the rewards when standing up for what, in its purest form, is one of the last remaining cornerstones of individual liberty — believing that owning your own home comes with certain rights, alongside many costly responsibilities.

It boils down to resisting the exercise of power by those who have it toward those who don’t.

Through the centuries, starting with a challenge to the divine right of kings with the signing of the Magna Carta, individuals have fought against such a lopsided status quo. After much struggle and bloodshed, even the common folk eventually carved out a few rights for themselves; always a tenuous situation at best, and often tied up in the ownership of property.

It’s quite remarkable what a tiny plot of land can do to our willingness to stand up and declare, “This far, but no further.” Or, to put it more precisely in today’s........

© Calgary Herald