Just how important is a contract to you?

I ask this simple question for a very good reason. When you sign a contract with another party, just how important is it to you that both parties honor the agreement? Well, if you are anything like me, it means a hell of alot.
The reason I am asking this question is because I believe it is tied in to the very core of our Liberty. You see, I believe with Liberty and Freedom, you also have great obligations. A Freeman is able to voluntarily enter into private contracts with others, at his own will. It is understood that it is his obligation to live up to his end of the bargain, and if he does not, then he can be subject to penalty of some sort.
Now, on to the meat of my thought. Yesterday, in the news, was a story of a man in Ohio, who after his house caught fire, had to watch it burn because he had refused to pay the $75 per year fee that all residents of the unincorporated County were being charged for a nearby City Fire Department to provide rural services to them. Now, stay with me here, it might get long winded. The residents of the city are covered as far as fire department protection as a part of the property taxes they pay. In other words, the Citizens of that city have entered into a private contract with the inCorporated City Government, agreeing to pay property taxes, in exchange for certain City services. The residents of the outlying rural areas that pay $75 per year to be given Fire Department service to their homes have also entered into a private contract with the City government, agreeing to pay that money in exchange for the service. To me, that is a great option for the rural folks there, they can still be protected without having to shell out massive amounts of money to get fire engines and the associated equipment to have their own Fire Department.
Now, along comes some guy, who's house is burning. He has refused to pay that $75 fee in the past, and now, the Fire Department will not put out his fire for him. He's in a state of panic. He even agrees to pay the fee. However, there is one huge consideration here that alot of people are forgetting. The Fire Department has a contractual obligation to provide services to certain people. What would happen if one of the Firefighters were severly injured, or killed? Well, the people the Fire department have a private contract with will be picking up some serious bills. Yet the person that refused to protect his own property, in other words, refused to have some common sense, then wants to not have to take responsibility for his stupidity? In other words, he would like the government to bail him out for being an idiot.
What happens if some equipment is damaged severly while fighting this fire, and they get a call that a resident in the City is one fire, and that particular piece of equipment is vital? Well, the City then would have broken it's contract, egregiously, because they were off breaking their equipment on the home of someone not in contract with them.
Who then would cry out for the poor soul, who has been paying for his services honestly and with full faith that the service will be there in his time of need?
When will America wake up to what the term "firm reliance on Divine Providence" means? When will they realize that the government cannot solve our problems, because they are the problem? When will America truly get the meaning of the words Faith, Hope, and Charity? When a community has that, and it's people take ownership and responsibility for their deed, both good and bad, when a community comes together through choice and free will, not through the phony attempts of government intervention, then we will prosper once again. We will be able to hand a legacy to our children and grandchildren of Love, Respect, Hope, and Honor. We will be able to give them a peaceful, prosperous Nation, where the Civil Liberties of all people are respected and cherished.
First it starts with respecting Contracts, and deciding that you are responsible for your own life, and that you don't need to be nannied.
My prayers go with the family that lost their home, and I truly suspect the people of his community will band together and help them. I do not wish the family ill, but I do hope they learned a very serious lesson. The biggest upside to this is, if there are others in the rural areas there that refuse to pay the fee, they won't be doing that anymore. Now they know they have to pay for their services, just like everyone else.