The Andy Griffith Show was a comedy that aired on CBS from 1960 through 1968. The main characters are Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry, his bumbling deputy Barney, his Aunt Bee, and his son, Opie. While most of the secondary characters are portrayed as oafs, Sheriff Taylor is supposedly the only smart one, the rock solid sheriff who keeps all the buffoons in order.
On January 20, 1964, CBS aired an episode of the show called Aunt Bee The Crusader. In this episode, the county plans to plow over a certain Farmer Frisby's land in order to build a highway. Mr. Frisby, a friend of Aunt Bee's, comes over to Sheriff Taylor's house with gifts for Opie and Aunt Bee, explaining that he's being run off his land and that he's getting rid of all his possessions. This alarms Aunt Bee, and she takes the matter to Sheriff Taylor, who tries to convince her that the county is completely justified in its eminent domain, taking several different angles to try and persuade her - everything from telling her that the county's giving Mr. Frisby more money than his property is worth to reciting the old liberal hymn about the will of the people versus the will of one man. (Where have I heard this before? Try John 11:49-50, when Caiaphas decided to crucify Jesus, using the same excuse: "You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one Man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.") Aunt Bee won't have it, and rallies the women of Mayberry to protest against such blatant government overreach. On the day of the scheduled bulldozing, the women block the demolition crew and demand that Sheriff Taylor preserve Mr. Frisby's farm. Meanwhile, a rooster from Frisby's cellar appears, apparently drunk, and Sheriff Taylor investigates the henhouse. It turns out that Frisby was operating an underground moonshine operation, and Taylor takes advantage of this revelation to turn the women against Frisby and calls for the bulldozers to demolish his home. Later, Aunt Bee apologizes to Sheriff Taylor that she was so stout in defending Mr. Frisby, and Andy starts rambling, "Didn't I tell you... You shouldn't have... " and so on.
This is propaganda in its most sinister form. The local government had no right to plow over Mr. Frisby's land. The land belongs to Mr. Frisby, and no voter or judge should have any say in the matter. If Mr. Frisby does not consent to the demolition, then the county has NO RIGHT to pave over his farm.
Modern governments tend to reserve rights that they simply do not have. One of these rights is eminent domain. Eminent domain is clearly government overreach; the government has no authority to steal somebody's property, regardless of how much money they're willing to shell over. It's like me robbing my neighbor at gunpoint of his most prized possession. If he's not willing to give it up, and I take it anyway, then I am a thief. Just because I have power doesn't mean I am justified in doing whatever I want.
The episode shies over this natural law and instead tries to focus on Mr. Frisby's crimes in justifying the action. Although Mr. Frisby was doing something he wasn't supposed to do, that doesn't give the government the right to destroy his house. They were going to do this anyway, and instead used Mr. Frisby's crime as an excuse. A very common tactic in republican politics.
After this episode, Mr. Frisby never again appears on the show. One can't help but assume that he's homeless and destitute, his life ruined by tyrannical republican overreach.
