Editor’s Note:

The following column is a rerun because: 1) I had to fill space; 2) I already worked plenty on this issue over my allegedly restful three-day weekend; and 3) The sentiments expressed in this column cannot be said enough. This old world still has far too many busybodies, meddlers, do-gooders, hypocrites and small-minded, sniveling bigots. Facebook is their hive.

“Whenever A annoys or injures B on the pretense of improving or saving X, A is a scoundrel.” – H.L. Mencken

Much like the late John Lennon, I too am a dreamer.

But instead of dreaming about a filthy, hippy-dippy Marxist Utopia where nobody owns property and everybody spends hours in drum circles, I dream about a world where everybody minds their own business and leaves each other alone.

Just to be clear, I don’t mean a selfish Ayn Rand-type of world where there’s no charity, no compassion, no self-sacrifice, no sense of community.

I just want a world where people stop butting their noses into other folks’ affairs and telling them how to live.

I dream of a live-and-let-live-type of society where as long as your actions aren’t violating someone else’s rights or property, you’re free to do as you please, say what you want and be who you are.

That’s not to say I want people to stop expressing opinions about ideas and actions with which they disagree.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with speaking your mind or trying to persuade others to your point of view, just don’t knock on my door. I hate that.

I want people to stop pushing for new laws and other intrusive government action designed to force others to live a certain way.

I am equally appalled by the lunatics on the Politically Correct Left and the Moral Majoritarian Right.

Both sides are filled with disgusting, tyrannical hypocrites, from the Health Police who would take away our tobacco, booze, guns, meat and fried foods to the self-appointed Guardians of Righteousness who wish to dictate what we read, what we watch, what we listen to, who we marry and where we spend Sunday mornings.

Anyone who wants to force you to live their way because they want to preserve your health, save your soul or because they think they know better than you is a vile enemy of liberty.

You want to be vegan, fine, but don’t try to stop me from eating a steak or shooting a deer. Just quietly eat your tofu and grow more pale and weak.

And by the way, the last time I checked, there’s no constitutional right to be protected from things that don’t coincide with our personal tastes or beliefs.

The very idea you can have a free society in which people are never offended or insulted is absolutely absurd.

Equally absurd is the notion that people should have the right to call upon the government to censor, outlaw or squash whatever they happen to deem offensive.

For a while now, I’ve been thinking about flying a Confederate flag side-by-side with a Rainbow flag outside my Oxford Village home just to see how many whiny busybodies on the Left and Right lodge complaints or make threats.

Maybe I’ll throw in a ‘Trump for President’ sign for good measure.

As far as ‘moral character’ is concerned, we should all start worrying more about our own before we begin to fret about what others are doing behind closed doors.

Those blowhards who preach about morality the loudest in public usually have the dirtiest secrets lurking in their closets and on their Web browsing history.

My world view is quite simple – When my neighbor needs help, I’ll always be there to lend a hand. But as far as what goes on inside his home or how he lives his life, as long as it doesn’t infringe on my rights, that’s his business and it’s not my place or the government’s place to say otherwise.

I hope some day you’ll join me and the world will live as one.