Apparently in Missouri, if you don’t pay your dues, you don’t get public services. Such is the case of Bibaldo Rueda, who had an audience of firefighters who stood and watch his property burn rather than help because he hadn’t paid his vaguely-defined “membership dues”. Now, I’m not saying that I know the exact structure of Monett, MO’s property taxes and other municipal fees, but my understanding has been that taxes paid on the ownership of property go to fund things like local firefighting units, police squads, emergency health rescue teams, etc. Can anyone explain why membership dues are required to receive access to the public service that is firefighting?

And what about doing the right thing? I’d almost be surprised if this occurred anywhere else besides the Bible Belt. But now that I think about it, holding back a service for what amounts to a morality lesson is just the sort of thing that rural Christians would do in a situation like this. It’s almost Mafia-esque in its brutality. “Shoulda paid us that money, mister. Now your stuff’s all burned up.” What sort of amoral person stands by in front of a vehicle full of water with hoses and nozzles attached to it in front of a burning house and doesn’t object to non-involvment based on a late payment? I mean, after Bibaldo Rueda offered, on the spot, to make good on his missing dues, was it still necessary to watch his garage burn itself out? To me, this reeks of more evidence of the hypocritical morals of America’s “Righteous Region”.